Tacherra Ranch Tenants Seek Justice and Relief for Unsafe Living Conditions

Bolinas, California – September 27, 2023 – California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, with co-counsel Legal Aid of Marin, filed a legal action in Marin Superior Court on behalf of the Tacherra Ranch Tenants’ Association (“TRTA”) against property owners James M. Tacherra, Susan Tacherra, and Ernest J. Tacherra, as well as court-appointed receiver Lawrence A. Baskin, in response to decades of unsafe and impermissible living conditions at 160 Mesa Road, known as Tacherra Ranch. In addition, Legal Aid of Marin (“LAM”) and California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (“CRLAF”) represent 35 individual tenants, 14 of whom are children.

For years, more than 20 crude rental dwellings at Tacherra Ranch have been in violation of state and local housing codes, rendering them unsafe and uninhabitable. TRTA, representing current and former tenants of Tacherra Ranch, has initiated this action to seek injunctive relief, restitution, and damages on behalf of its members. Individually named plaintiffs are former or current tenants who assert claims on their own behalf in addition to those claims brought by TRTA.

While tenants have repeatedly voiced concerns about the hazardous living conditions and requested repairs, the property owners and the court-appointed receiver have taken no steps to address the serious health and safety hazards on the property and continued to illegally collect rent from the tenants for years.

“LAM and CRLAF are proud to represent the tenants of Tacherra Ranch, and we will demand accountability for the inhumane and unacceptable living conditions the defendants created and ignored for years,” LAM’s Executive Director, Laura McMahon, said. “Home should be the place where you feel safe and secure. Instead, our clients and their children have lived in deplorable conditions and were told to pay rent when the defendants had no legal right to collect it. LAM and CRLAF are privileged to support our clients and demand that they be made whole.”

CRLAF’s Executive Director, Amagda Pérez, emphasized the importance of this case. “The Defendants have trampled upon our clients’ rights for years. They must be held accountable for their unfair, fraudulent, and illegal actions that targeted some of the most vulnerable families living in Bolinas.” TRTA and the individual plaintiffs demand justice, accountability, and fair compensation for the harm they have endured due to the ongoing neglect of the property.

About Legal Aid of Marin

Legal Aid of Marin is a non-profit organization providing housing, consumer, economic justice, estate planning, and employment legal services to Marin residents. LAM also offers extensive Know Your Rights education and outreach programs for the community at large and advocates for policy and systemic changes that benefit Marin’s low-income and marginalized residents. LAM’s mission is to create an equitable Marin by empowering the community through legal representation, advocacy, and education.

About California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation

CRLAF is a statewide non-profit civil legal aid organization that provides free legal services and policy advocacy for impoverished and marginalized rural communities in California. CRLAF works to address the most pressing needs of California rural communities through community education and outreach, impact litigation, legislative and administrative advocacy, and public policy leadership at the state and local level. CRLAF’s practice areas include: Labor, Housing, Education Equity, Health Care Access, Worker Safety, Citizenship, Immigration, and Environmental Justice.

For media inquiries and further information, please contact:

Laura McMahon, Executive Director

Legal Aid of Marin

1401 Los Gamos Drive, Suite 101

San Rafael, CA 94903

(415) 492-0230 ext. 108

lmcmahon@legalaidmarin.org

Verónica Meléndez, Directing Litigation Atorney

California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation

2210 K Street, Suite 201

Sacramento, CA 95816

(916) 446-7904, ext. 299