Trial attorneys are cleaning up on eviction fees, raking in money on people who are struggling to make ends meet.
Courts across Virginia awarded almost $20 million in attorneys fees last year for eviction cases. That’s a 48% increase from pre-pandemic levels according to a new report from the Virginia Poverty Law Center and Virginia Commonwealth University's Eviction Lab – suggesting attorneys fees are deepening Virginia's eviction crisis.
"Somebody could spend an hour or so at the courthouse representing landlords in 40 cases and could walk out of there with a grand total of $50,000 in attorney fees that those tenants that lost those cases are obligated by law to pay their landlords," says Phil Storey, a housing attorney at the Virginia Poverty Law Center.
Christie Marra is director of housing policy at the Virginia Poverty Law Center, and she says members of the General Assembly can take action to solve the problem.
"Requiring attorneys who are seeking to have the loser in an eviction case pay their attorneys fees, having them submit an affidavit outlining what they did on the case and how long it took them and what their hourly rate is," Marra says.
Courts in Northern Virginia are already doing this, but the report shows how legislation is needed to require that kind of documentation in other parts of the Commonwealth.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
