a. How can the landlord be defaulted when in fact he was in court, arguing the case?
b. Name some or all of the rules of law that this landlord broke.
c. Other than that, was the landlord a pretty decent guy?
The tenants (probably students) moved into an apartment that had been condemned and, contrary to the landlord's promises, not fixed up. There were mice, roaches, terrible odors, roof leaks, no heat, broken toilets and more. The landlord failed to repair and the tenants stopped paying rent. The landlord made various threats; the tenants moved out; the landlord converted some of the tenants' personal property and made more threats; and the tenants sued. The landlord was defaulted for failing to respond to discovery orders.
The jury awarded each tenant $15,000 for emotional distress, plus a total of $1 million in punitive damages.