A Hennepin County court referee has ordered a Minneapolis landlord to pay $187,390 for “bad faith litigation conduct,” the largest sanction by far in the 27-year history of housing courts in Minnesota.
The court found that Stephen Frenz, one of the city’s biggest landlords, had submitted a falsified affidavit and phony leases to try to persuade the referee to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a neighborhood organization, seeking repairs on one of his properties.
The ruse was discovered by tenant attorneys at the start of what appeared to be a routine housing trial last year.
“I have never seen a sanction even close to this number,” said attorney Lawrence McDonough of the Dorsey & Whitney firm, who has represented or advised about 10,000 housing court clients in Minnesota over the past 33 years. McDonough was not involved in the current Frenz case.
“I think it provides a strong message to bad actors like Mr. Frenz and this is a wonderful result,” said Michael Cockson of Faegre Baker Daniels law firm and the lead attorney on the case for the neighborhood group.
The sanctions award was signed by Referee Jason Hutchison and Ivy S. Bernhardson, chief Hennepin County District Judge.
Frenz has appealed other orders in the case, so it is expected that he will appeal Hutchison’s decision into Hennepin County District Court and if he were to lose there, to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Twitter: @randyfurst
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