RIVERVIEW, Fla. — For close to three years Oswald Robinson and his son rented a home in Riverview. According to their landlord, the rent was paid on time and the year-long lease did not expire until June 2022.
But late last year the home went into foreclosure. And, in February, the bank sold the property to a new owner.
Robinson thought he was protected by the lease. But in March, the new owner taped a notice to the garage door ordering Robinson and his son to leave the premises.
Days later, the situation escalated. Robinson said the owner came into the house with a work crew and started to tear out parts of the bathroom and utility room.
“My son was upstairs and surprised that there were people in the house,” Robinson said.
POLICE RESPOND
Robinson called 911. Deputies who responded found no court order of eviction or any court filing that would give the owner access to the home while it was occupied by the Robinsons. Deputies ordered the homeowner to leave and advised him to file an eviction in court.
Two weeks later the home’s new owner, Jose Lodeiro, filed a lawsuit in court against Robinson and his son. It accused them of living in the house illegally.
The Robinsons didn’t respond to the court case and when they didn’t, the judge ordered an eviction.
LAWYERS RESPOND
Consumer Attorney Billy Howard saw Robinson's story on ABC Action News in May, and in September he filed a lawsuit on Robinson’s behalf.
Howard told ABC Action News, “This was a false lawsuit filed against Mr. Robinson because they said he was unlawfully in his house. He was not unlawfully in the house.”
The case states the home's owner, "Intentionally harassed and abused Mr. Robinson entered the home without permission then destroyed the bathroom..."
Jose Lodeiro’s attorney responded by filing a motion to dismiss what he calls a frivolous lawsuit. Lodeiro said in the response he was only on the property for five minutes and "did not cause any destruction to the property.”
The motion calls Robinson’s ask for more than $30,000 in damages, egregious.
Now it’s up to a judge to decide if the lawsuit will proceed.
