Thomas Breen photo
The now-shuttered Andy Restaurant-Bar on Sargent Dr.
A 32-year-old tenant has until the end of the month to move himself, his pregnant wife, and their two children out of their rented single-family home — in his latest setback after closing his Long Wharf restaurant, falling behind on rent at his house, and preparing to file for bankruptcy.
State Superior Court Judge Walter Spader, Jr. handed down that order Tuesday morning at the end of an eviction trial in New Haven’s housing court on the third floor of 121 Elm St.
Spader ordered the 32-year-old tenant — whose first name is Andres — to move himself and his family out of their rented Valley Road house in North Branford by the end of February.
He also ruled that the tenant does not have to pay rent in that time as he looks for a new place to live.
(The Independent agreed to identify Andres only by his first name in this article, as he described just how “humiliated” he feels about his recent stretch of significant financial hard luck.)
“This is a straightforward case,” Spader said on Tuesday before delivering his decision. That’s because Andres did not dispute a contention made in a nonpayment of rent eviction lawsuit filed by his landlord, Jennifer Miller of East Haven, that Andres had failed to pay his $3,000 monthly rent for the North Branford house dating back to December.
Thomas Breen photo
Judge Spader, on the housing-court bench Tuesday.
What made the decision a difficult one, the judge continued, stemmed from the reasons Andres gave as to why he and his family had fallen so far behind on rent: They simply did not have the money to pay.
“You can see my bank account,” Andres told the judge during the eviction trial.
He said he and his family moved into the Valley Road rented house in September. That was one month after he opened up a new Colombian-focused restaurant, Andy Restaurant-Bar, at the site of the former Greek Olive restaurant on Sargent Drive in New Haven’s Long Wharf district.
That restaurant, Andres said, is what led him into the financial straits he’s in now.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, and I had to close it” in November, he told the judge. Even though the restaurant is now closed, “all the bills came due,” He said he’s currently working with a lawyer on filing for bankruptcy.
“My wife is pregnant,” Andres told Spader. They also have a two-year-old child together, and his wife has an eight-year-old daughter. “It’s been kind of a hard time,” he said. He recognized that he and his family will have to move out of their Valley Road home. “The only thing I need is time.”
The state courthouse at 121 Elm St., home to New Haven's housing court.
Before Andres made his pitch for more time to find a new place to live, Spader asked the the plaintiff — Miller’s husband, David Tiedemann, and attorney Steve Ketaineck — what they are looking for in this eviction case.
“Simply, possession,” Ketaineck replied. “What we want is possession.”
His client hadn’t received rent since November, he said. That meant the tenant was already $6,000 behind for December and January — with likely another $3,000 in debt to accrue for February’s still-unpaid rent.
Tiedemann and Ketaineck added that Andres did not pay a security deposit upon moving into the North Branford house last fall. (Andres explained that he had struck an agreement with the landlord that would see him make fixes to the property in exchange for not having to pay a security deposit.)
“I do appreciate you’re not making any excuses,” Spader told Andres. “There’s not a lot of room for what I can do.” He noted that the landlord still has to pay their bills, even if he and his family don’t pay rent. “The owners of the property have a mortgage that has to be paid,” Ketainek said.
Are you close to finding a new place to live? Spader asked.
It’s been difficult, Andres said, to find a place he and his family can afford. Plus, every time a landlord does a background check on him, they now find he has an eviction case on his record.
Have you looked into receiving any kind of rental subsidy or support? Spader asked.
“I don’t know much about programs,” Andres said with dismay. “I don’t know much people.” Spader recommended that he apply to the recently reopened UniteCT program. That may help him put together enough money for a security deposit for a new place he and his family might try to move to.
In general, Spader said, in nonpayment of rent eviction cases, “the court doesn’t really have discretion to give more time” than the five-day stay from when the judge sides with the plaintiff and when the landlord can begin trying to move the tenant out.
Spader then gave Andres and his family until Feb. 28 to move out of the Valley Road house. And he ruled that the family does not have to pay rent during that time. “If you don’t find a place” to move to, Spader warned, the landlord could file papers with the court to have the tenant removed.
Tenant: "I Lost A Lot Of Money"
The site of the now-closed Andy Restaurant.
After the trial concluded, the Independent caught up with Andres on the third floor of the Elm Street courthouse.
“I think he helped me a lot. I don’t have to move out in five days,” Andres said about the judge. Nevertheless, “it’s been hard,” and this eviction order is one more serious hardship in a string of rough financial luck.
Andres said he moved to New Haven from Colombia in 2015. He got a degree from Gateway Community College, landed a job in construction, and managed to save up enough to money to open his own restaurant last year.
That dream restaurant was Andy Restaurant-Bar on Sargent Drive, which he opened last August.
“I worked hard,” he said about all of the construction-site hours he put in saving up money for the restaurant, and then all the time he spent at the Sargent Drive restaurant itself.
But then, he said, the restaurant did not work out. Not enough customers came by. Rent was too high. “I lost a lot of money” on Andy Restaurant-Bar, he said. “And now I’m getting evicted.”
Will he try to move back to New Haven?
Probably, Andres said. “I love New Haven.” His top priority is finding a place for him and his family to move to, he said. “I feel humiliated,” he said about losing his home and his restaurant.
Landlord's Lawyer: Extended Stay Legally Dubious
Law Offices of Stephen R. Ketaineck photo
Landlord's attorney Stephen Ketaineck.
Reached by phone and email after Tuesday’s trial, Ketaineck was wary of the judge’s legal authority to pause the eviction for longer than the state-mandated five-day stay.
“If you look at the statute, my recollection is that, when there’s a judgment entered for nonpayment of rent, the statute provides for a five-day stay of execution. If the judge has authority to vary that, I’m not aware there’s statutory authority.” This isn’t just an issue with Judge Spader, he said. “I’ve seen many housing court judges do this. They set up a stay of execution beyond the five-day period.”
Ketaineck said he and his client will not be filing an appeal, because, “as a practical matter,” his client wouldn’t have been able to get the tenant out of the house much sooner than the few weeks that Spader had granted. (In a follow up email, Ketaineck referenced state law Sec. 47a-35(a), which reads: “Execution shall be stayed for five days from the date judgment has been rendered, provided any Sunday or legal holiday intervening shall be excluded in computing such five days.” “I don’t believe there is any other statute that gives the court authority to grant a longer stay unless the defendant has filed a Motion for Stay of Execution,” the attorney wrote. “A defendant is ineligible to file such a motion if the judgment is based on nonpayment of rent.”)
And yet, Ketaineck said, he has nothing but the highest regard for Spader.
“Judge Spader is outstanding,” he said. “I think he’s the best housing court judge we’ve had there” in years. “He’s fair. He’s very solicitous. He makes it clear to all parties why he’s doing what he’s doing, and what governs his decision making. And he doesn’t take any nonsense.”
“I’ve seen housing court judges that were far more favorable to the tenants and gave them far more latitude,” Ketaineck concluded. Spader “does what he’s supposed to do under the law.”
See below for other recent stories about New Haven eviction cases:
• Eviction OK’d After “Lapse,” Rent Debate
• Mandy Leads Pack In Eviction Filings
• Eviction “Answers” Reveal Renters’ Struggles
• Eviction Suit Caps Tenant’s Tough Run
• Investor Skips Hello, Starts Evictions
• Eviction Deal Drops $1 Ruling Appeal
• Judge’s $1 Award Tests Eviction Rule
• Court Case Q: Which “Nuisances” Merit Eviction?
• “Or” Evictions OK’d
• Fair Rent: Dog’ll Cost You $150
• Rent Trumps Repairs In Elliot Street Eviction
• Though Sympathetic, Judge Blocks Eviction
• Family Feuds Fill Eviction Court
• Rent Help Winds Down. What’s Next?
• Eviction Withdrawn After Rent Catch-up
• Hill Landlord Prevails In“Lapse” Eviction
• Landlord Thwarted 2nd Time On Eviction
• Church Evicting Parishioner
• Hard-Luck Tenant Hustles To Stay Put
• Eviction Of Hospitalized Tenant, 74, Upheld
• Judge Pauses Eviction Amid Rent-Relief Qs
• Amid Rise In “Lapse-of-Time” Evictions, Tenant Wins 3‑Month Stay
• Leaky Ceiling, Rent Dispute Spark Eviction Case
This is a really sad and personal story. I am surprised that NHI would post this because it is embarrassing and could even be crushing for this hard working man.