Judge finds North Philly landlord in contempt of court after locking residents out of their units again

A Common Pleas Court judge found a Philadelphia landlord in contempt of court Wednesday for locking more than a dozen tenants out of their homes this week, despite a court order that they be allowed back inside.

“I conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the plaintiffs had the ability to fully comply with my order, and disregarded my order. As a result, I find the plaintiffs to be in civil contempt of my order,” said Judge Joshua Roberts.

The decision comes after the state attorney general filed a petition late Tuesday requesting intervention after numerous residents of the Moscow & Monica apartments were again locked out of their units.

Roberts fined the complex, which is owned and operated by developer Gagandeep Lakhmna, $22,500, plus $500 in state attorney fees. Roberts ordered an additional fine of $1,000 per day for each unit whose resident does not receive access.

The case includes more than 25 tenants of the Moscow & Monica apartments who say they were scammed out of their rent money by the complex’s former property manager, Frank Sanders. Sanders allegedly made oral leases with the tenants, which are legal leases for up to three years in Pennsylvania.

Lakhmna and his attorney, Don Benedetto, have argued the residents are not legal tenants, and accused them of conspiring with Sanders. Lakhmna filed a lawsuit in March to have all the tenants removed, and the new building manager began locking out tenants and shutting off their power and utilities. Shapiro’s office intervened in the case.

At the first hearing March 15, Roberts ordered that all residents receive full access to their units until otherwise determined by the court.

» READ MORE: Developer in North Philly eviction case has a history of complaints and a controversial project in the works

A second hearing was held Monday, with another scheduled for April 16. In the meantime, Roberts said, all tenants should be allowed to stay in their units.

Instead, within an hour of Monday’s hearing, tenants lost access to the building and their units. The building’s sole front entrance — all other entrances have been locked — and residents’ apartments require an electronic key fob for entry, but most had their access cut off, forcing some to sleep in their cars.

The electronic system that grants tenants’ access to the building and their unit includes a beginning and end date for the lease. A tenant testified that the expiration date for his access was set for March 29 — the date of the second hearing.

When a resident emailed building management about his loss of access, a member of management responded that “Everybody’s access was only granted until today’s court date.”

Roberts called this “gross negligence.”

Lakhmna did not attend Wednesday’s hearing. His lawyer argued that because criminal contempt charges were on the table, he would not have advised him to testify.

Roberts wasn’t happy. “I view his failure to appear as an affront to the court, and I will factor it in accordingly as I make my decision,” he said.

Residents gave emotional testimony Wednesday about the frustrations of living at the complex. Shawn Cherry testified that he had to sleep in his car Monday night after he couldn’t get into his unit. Another resident said he had to make sure someone was constantly in his unit to ensure he could return.

“This landlord’s callous choices forced people to crash on couches, sleep in cars, and left some without medication for their kids,” state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement. “Landlords should be on notice: this type of behavior is illegal and our office will protect tenants.”

While some residents had regained access to their units by Wednesday afternoon, at least five had not, according to Vik Patel, staff attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, who is representing some of the residents.

Other residents and some maintenance workers helped get residents back into the building in the meantime. Some used screwdrivers to reenter their units.

Residents and their lawyers tried to get in touch with Lakhmna on Monday and Tuesday to understand why they were locked out again, but said he was not responsive. In the meantime, Lakhmna’s Facebook stories posted Monday night showed him sailing on a large yacht among crystal-blue waters and palm trees, which appear to be in the Caribbean.

Lakhmna is a developer with properties primarily in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. There is a history of complaints against his Philadelphia properties.