LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Gov. Andy Beshear’s order halting evictions in Kentucky during the pandemic didn’t stop Jhala Fisher’s landlord from placing a notice on the door of her south Louisville apartment this week: You haven’t paid, and we’ve gone to court to kick you out.
Beshear and the independently elected judges of the Kentucky courts system are not on the same page about evictions. In Louisville, landlords such as Fisher’s are proceeding with the legal steps necessary to kick tenants out despite the governor’s moratorium, court records show.
The state Supreme Court said last month that landlords could once again go to county courts to evict tenants for failing to pay rent beginning Aug. 1, putting the courts system at odds with Beshear’s indefinite moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Since the court system reopened the door, at least 40 evictions for nonpayment of rent have been filed in Jefferson County, according to WDRB’s analysis of court records.
The owner of the Southwood Apartments complex near Iroquois Park, where Fisher lives, became one of the first landlords to take advantage of the court’s move. On Aug. 1, a Saturday, the landlord filed eviction cases against Fisher and nine other tenants.
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Acknowledging a “confusing” rift between his executive order and the court’s policy, Beshear said late last month that tenants who are unable to pay rent because of the pandemic would still be protected.
That’s because, according to the governor, his order would prevent Sheriff’s offices and other law enforcement agencies from setting renters out of their homes.
But Carl Yates, a spokesman for the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Office, said the sheriff will enforce any eviction order it receives from the courts. The office is not able to “pick and choose” which orders to obey, he said.
A handful of Louisville attorneys knowledgeable about evictions said judges will have the final say on whether Beshear’s executive order is followed, as sheriff’s offices merely enforce the orders the courts give them.
“We believe the courts would agree the executive order currently prevents the enforcement of eviction orders,” Beshear’s office said on Friday. “However, the Governor is working with the Administrative Office of the Courts to find an appropriate resolution and understands there is a pilot program in Jefferson County.”
Beshear’s office didn’t immediately elaborate on the “pilot program.” Kentucky Chief Justice John Minton, who oversees the court’s administrative office, has declined to comment on the eviction issue.
The court system’s willingness to accept eviction cases starting this month is a strong signal that judges will allow those cases to move forward, despite Beshear’s executive order, said Michael Maple, a Louisville attorney who filed the eviction cases on behalf of the Southwood apartment complex.
“I am comfortable the court is prepared to enforce its order, and despite the governor’s statements otherwise, the court has not chosen to back down from its position,” he said.
Fisher, 26, can’t be kicked out of her apartment until a judge hears the case on Aug. 17. That’s the first step toward her landlord getting a warrant for the sheriff to set her out. None of the Jefferson County eviction cases filed since the Aug. 1 change has reached a judge.
Fisher acknowledged that she’s behind on her rent, saying she lost her job as a home care worker. Her landlord said in a court filing that she owes $499 for each of June and July, plus fees.
She hasn’t applied for unemployment benefits on the assumption she wouldn’t qualify.
Fisher said she’s been selling her plasma to make ends meet and can barely afford gas for her car.
“I don’t even go anywhere because I don’t have the gas. I can barely make it to interviews, when I do have interviews,” she said.
Maple declined to comment on behalf of his client, the business that owns the apartment complex.
But he noted that landlords are unable to meet their own financial obligations if their tenants don’t pay.
“Landlords still must maintain their property whether they receive rents or not,” he said.
Indiana has a similar eviction moratorium, which Gov. Eric Holcomb has extended three times. It expires Aug. 14.
