Apartment Review for Banbury Manor - Los Angeles, CA

This building is managed by Millennium Property Management whose offices are located in Mission Hills, CA and whose president and broker is Janice Johnson. I had been living on the property since 1996, but since their arrival in 2002, Millennium never responded to my requisitions asking they repair a broken living room window; the oven on my extremely old apartment stove; that they repair a broken pipe located in the area above my bathroom ceiling which belonged to the bathroom located in the apartment above my own; that they repair my inoperative wall heater; and that they remove mold which covered my bathroom walls and ceilings and which a former manager only painted over. When my telephone line was damaged as a result of hot water from a broken pipe, splashing on to the telephone line, Millennium suggested I call the telephone company. For 3 weeks, representatives fromt the telephone company could not inspect the lines because the manager, Sean Wright, could not be found in his office so that he could open the door leading to the basement where the telephone lines were located. When the representatives finally were able to enter the basement, they found that the repairs were Millennium's responsibility. I was without phone service for 3 weeks. In October 3, 2003, I returned home from work and discovered a form letter taped to my door which said that I had not paid my rent and that due to this I must now pay an additional $75.00 late fee. If I refused to pay, I would be subject to eviction proceedings. The agreement I signed stipulated that rent was due on the 1st but could be paid up until the 3rd of the month without incurring a late fee. What's more, I paid the rent earlier that day, before 5 p.m. Like most tenants, I dropped of an envelope containing my rent check in the drop box located on the manager's office door. Though it was after 5 p.m., I called Mr. Wright's office but a recorder answered. I left a message requesting that Mr. Wright call me immediately. When he didn't call back, I walked to his apartment which was located directly across from his office. I knocked three times and though I could hear the television in his apartment and could hear footsteps, he never opened the door. I next called the 'after hours' number provided on his office recorder and left a message demanding he call me immediately. He never did. Later that evening, a neighbor and I went to see a movie at a theatre complex in Burbank, CA. After the movie ended, we returned home. As we stepped out of his car, I asked my neighbor if he would accompany me to Mr. Wright's apartment, explaining that attempts to contact him earlier that evening had been unsuccessful. My neighbor stood behind me, slightly to my right while I knocked 3 times. I heard the sound of shuffling footsteps and the door was opened by Mr. Wright. I identified myself and asked why he left a letter threatening to evict me unless the rent was paid, when the rent had already been left at his office earlier that day. He responded by saying, 'You're a liar.' I told him I am not a liar, check your door. He again accused me of being a liar. I asked why he had left the note on my door when the agreement all tenants signed at the time, specifically said that payments must be received no later than the 3rd of each month. He merely stated, 'This is inappropriate.' I also asked why my neighbor who had not yet paid his rent, had not been issued a letter like the one I received. Mr. Wright said, 'I haven't gotten around to doing it yet.' I then reminded him of his calls to my apartment and told him I would proceed in filing a complaint against him. Raising his right arm, he struck me on the face with the palm of his hand. He next slammed the door to his apartment but I flinched afraid of being struck on the face and attempted to cover my face. Somehow, my hand got caught on his door jam. My neighbor and I pushed the door screaming that he open it so to release my hand, but screaming like a madman, he yelled, 'Get out, get out.' We finally pushed the door far enough to free my hand and turning, we left the building. As we walked down the street, I could feel cold pangs on my fingers and raising my hand towards the light which emanated from a street lamp, I noticed that my middle and index fingers of my right hand were covered in thick oozing blood. I asked my neighbor if there was something wrong with my hand. He immediately panicked , screaming 'Your hand, your hand.' I told him to calm down and walking to his apartment, I tried to examine my hand but could not determine the extent of my injury. I then told him that we should call 911 but he was too nervous to explain what had happened. After speaking to an operator I was told that the paramedics were on their way to my neighbor's apartment. A short time later, the paramedics arrived and informed me that the tip of my index finger had been severed off. One paramedic walked to Mr. Wright's apartment to retrieve the missing piece while the other interviewed me and examined my injury. I was later escorted to a waiting ambulance where a policeman and policewoman were waiting. The policeman asked my neighbor and I several questions and informed us that Mr. Wright had accused me of assaulting him. I of course denied that this had occurred and was transferred to Kaiser Sunset. A physician examined my hand and the piece of finger which the paramedic was able to retrieve. She said that the severed piece had been crushed and could not be sewn back on the finger. She also said that a bone on my finger was protruding and because it was exposed, it could cause a serious infection. She said the bone would have to be severed. She also feared that the middle finger might have to be severed as it had been crushed but not mutilated. The finger was bone was severed for a few months after this, I visited the hospital periodically to have the finger examined. Within 30 days, I received a letter from the office of the attorney representing the management company along with an eviction notice which provided me with a few days in which to vacate my premises. In the letter, the attorney alleged that I created a nuisance when I visited and threatened Mr. Wright. He further alleged that my neighbor was a witness to what I had done and would be called to provide his testimony implicating me in the alleged assault against Mr. Wright. I obtained legal counsel and went to court to contest the eviction, but I lost when their attorney convinced the judge that I threatened Mr. Wright this despite the testimony of my neighbor which said I had been attacked. Before we entered the courtroom, Janice Johnson the Broker and President of Millennium Property Management, Inc., asked my attorney if she could speak to my witness. Unwittingly, my attorney conceded and during a closed-door meeting which followed, Janice informed my neighbor that she had been told that he had a dog and had failed to register this fact with her office which she alleged could result in his eviction. When they emerged from their meeting, Janice informed my attorney that she was now willing to go to court and fight their cause. It was not until later that day, that I discovered Janice's real reason for requesting to meet with my neighbor and witness. We proceeded to the courtroom where a brief trial was held. The judge issued a judgment on the side of the property management company. My neighbor later told me that when he went to pay his rent, Janice was in the office and she told him, 'Remember what we talked about in court. We're going to talk shortly.' He interpreted her statement as a threat. It was not until 2006, that I went to court on this matter. I sat quietly as Sean nervously described how I allegedly assaulted him. As I turned towards the back of the courtroom, I noticed Janice Johnson sitting at the back of the courtroom, staring intently at my former neighbor, as if attempting to intimidate him. She clutched her purse tightly to her chest and almost seemed to be hiding as she sat in the cornermost seat at the back of the courtroom. During her opening statements, Sean's 50-something attorney, dressed in mini-skirt and too tight blouse, announced that my former neighbor would attest unequivocally that I alone assaulted and victimized Sean Wright and that I lost my finger because Mr. Wright who in fear for his life, slammed his apartment door which severed my finger. When my neighbor sat to give his testimony, he described Mr. Wright's wild and undisciplined rampage which led in an assault against me and which caused me to lose my finger. Mr. Wright's attorney fumbled miserably, attempting suddently, to recuperate her position on what actually ensued on the night of 10/03/03, and insinuated that my neighbor was lying for me, but her poorly conceived ploy failed. The following day, I could not be present in court while the jury deliberated nor when they announced their verdict. I was criticized for visiting Mr. Wright after business hours but they determined that Mr. Wright attacked me and caused me to lose my finger. What I had wanted from the start was vindication and though the jury was not privy to all that Janice Johnson and Sean Wright had done, their final determination served as vindication. Janice Johnson, is an insidious personality, unscupulous and vicious. Sean Wright is basically a dolt and misfit. Millennium's attorney who filed the eviction notice was dishonest, using a fabrication to ouster me from my home. Mr. Wright's attorney, was sadly rather inept, resorting to distortions of the truth and relying on fragmentary information to knowingly sell a distorted scenario of what actually transpired on the night of 10/03/03. There is nothing, however, which can replace my finger or disepl the humiliation and hurt inflicted by this band of mongrels. However, the truth did prevail. My advise to tenants, is that if possible, they speak to tenants of a property they may be considering moving into. My advise to property owners is that they consult with state agencies, search the internet, and also, interview tenants of properties managed by a company they may be considering hiring. In the case of Millennium Property Management, Inc. of Mission Hills, no one should do business with its president, Janice Johnson, nor hire Sean Wright as a manager. By the way, my lawsuit was filed at Superior Court in Los Angeles, David Quinones vs Sean Wright (of Millennium Property Management, Inc.).