圣迭戈大房东Essex达成近2800万美元和解：押金集体诉讼1925万现金加870万债务减免
位于加利福尼亚州圣迭戈县的一起押金集体诉讼达成和解：全加州 Essex Property Trust 公寓社区的前租户将受益于一项总价值约 2,795 万美元的拟议和解，包括 1,925 万美元现金基金与 870 万美元债务自动减免。和解针对的是 Norman 等人诉 Essex Property Trust 案，案件在圣迭戈县高等法院审理，将于 11 月 13 日提交法院初步批准。
诉讼由前租户 Alexis Norman 与 Nicolette Cochran 于 2022 年 9 月提起，其后另有七名原告加入，指控 Essex 在退租时收取清洁、维修、油漆与更换费用时，未按《加州民法典》第 1950.5 条的要求提供明细与凭证。Essex 否认指控与任何不当行为。按和解条款，符合条件并提出索赔的前租户将按其押金中被扣的合格费用比例分享 1,925 万美元现金基金，款项不会回流 Essex；无人申领的资金将用于支持圣迭戈、洛杉矶与湾区的租户法律援助组织。
此外，Essex 将自动免除 2018 年 9 月 27 日至 2023 年 12 月 31 日期间加州前租户的全部退租欠款，无需申请，并请征信机构更正或删除与被免除欠款相关的负面记录。
Essex Property Trust reaches nearly $28 million settlement in San Diego security-deposit class action
SAN DIEGO, California — Former residents of Essex Property Trust apartment communities across California will benefit from a proposed class-action settlement valued at approximately $27.95 million, resolving Norman, et al. v. Essex Property Trust, Inc. in San Diego Superior Court, in San Diego County, California. The settlement — a $19.25 million cash fund plus $8.7 million in automatic debt forgiveness — will be presented to the court for preliminary approval on November 13, 2026.
The lawsuit, filed in September 2022 by former tenants Alexis Norman and Nicolette Cochran and later joined by seven additional plaintiffs, concerned move-out charges for cleaning, repairs, painting and replacements, and the itemization and vendor documentation required by California Civil Code section 1950.5. Essex denies the allegations and any wrongdoing. Eligible former tenants who submit a claim will share in the $19.25 million non-reversionary cash fund in proportion to the qualifying charges deducted from their deposits; unclaimed funds will support tenant legal-aid organizations in San Diego, Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
Essex will also forgive all outstanding move-out turnover balances claimed from former California tenants from September 27, 2018 through December 31, 2023, with no claim required, and will ask the credit bureaus to correct or delete negative reporting tied to the forgiven balances.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：圣迭戈夜景。图片：ChetChang，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / San Diego skyline at night. Photo: ChetChang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
