In late 2018, Nadia* and her four young children moved into Pinebrooke Apartments.  About a year later, Nadia went out of town to visit family for a few weeks and returned home to discover strangers living in her apartment!  Nadia immediately called the police, only to learn that – even though she was current on rent and was still in her original lease term — her landlord had removed all of her property while she was out of town and leased the apartment to other people.  Nadia and her family were unexpectedly homeless and lost their personal belongings.

Nadia reached out to AVLF for help.  In October 2019, she attended AVLF’s Saturday Lawyer Program.  Attorneys Yendelela Neely Holston and Jessica Truelove of the law firm Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton agreed to take on Nadia’s case just as the pandemic was hitting.  Despite being unable to meet with Nadia in-person and working entirely from their respective homes, Yendelela and Jessica got to work, first sending a demand letter to the landlord and then filing a lawsuit in the summer of 2021.  While Nadia will never be made whole from the trauma she suffered, through Jessica and Yendelela’s efforts she was able to recover $10,000 in damages.  Yendelela and Jessica are happy that they were able to help Nadia and hope to be able to meet her in person one day. 

*Name has been changed.