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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSeventeen Indiana landlords have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Eric Holcomb, seeking more than $500,000 in damages for unpaid rent and loss of property value caused by the moratoriums placed on evictions during 2020.
The plaintiffs assert the governor violated the Indiana Constitution and the emergency powers statute when he imposed a 16-month ban on evictions starting in March 2020. They claim that collectively they lost at least $577,118.52 during the 16-plus months the moratorium was in place.
In Indiana Property Rights Alliance, Inc., et al., v. Eric Holcomb, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Indiana and the State of Indiana, 49D11-2207-PL-025459, filed Thursday in Marion Superior Court, the plaintiffs seek monetary damages along with costs and attorney fees.
“Private ownership of rental property is beneficial to communities,” Laura Guy, IPRA president said in a statement. “Eviction moratoriums are egregious to both landlords/housing providers and tenant, especially without compensation. Any further government interference by any government agency to contractual agreements between landlord/housing provider and tenant is unconstitutional and fundamental abuse of power.”
Gov. Holcomb’s office did not respond to a request for comment by IL.
Indiana’s ban on evictions and mortgage foreclosures was invoked March 19, 2020, under executive order 20-06, and remained in place until Aug. 1, 2021. According to the complaint, Holcomb said he imposed the moratorium “to avoid the serious health, welfare, and safety consequences that may result if Hoosiers are evicted or removed from their homes” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The complaint contends that as Indiana moved through a staged reopening process, businesses were allowed to start operating again but the prohibition on evictions continued. Although rental assistance programs were instituted, landlord did not have direct access to the funds because only the tenants could apply and any money received was not required to cover unpaid rent.
In their complaint, the property owners assert the moratorium violated the Indiana Constitution’s takings clause. They argue through the ban on evictions, the defendants took their property without “first providing just compensation.”
The landlords also claim the moratorium violated the state constitution’s separation of powers and contracts clauses. Additionally, they assert the ban ran afoul of the emergency powers statute, Indiana Code 10-14-3.
“The Damaged Plaintiffs did not volunteer their property for commandeering without compensation; therefore, the Damaged Plaintiffs are entitled to just compensation in the form of damages from the start of the Eviction Ban to its conclusion,” the complaint states.
Thrasher Buschmann & Voelkel is representing the plaintiffs.
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