May 28, 2013 4 min read

A local attorney who also is a landlord has appealed to Washington County Court a ruling by a district judge related to the city rental ordinance, and, in addition to demanding a jury trial, is claiming false arrest and seeking to have the issue become a class action.

Charles E. Kurowski, a Canton Township resident, claims he purchased permits for his rental properties in 2010 and 2011 but never received them. When payments for the 2012 permits were due, he informed the city of this and noted that he “was not going to pay what (he) viewed as an illegal tax,” he wrote in his appeal. The city then filed criminal charges against Kurowski for collection of money it said it was due, Kurowski said.

Kurowski claims that, in addition to not issuing the permits, he believes the city did not maintain a separate fund for the sale of the rental ordinance permits, did not notify police and firefighters and enacted “a tax upon a special class of persons, namely, landlords.”

Mayor Brenda Davis said former solicitor Lane Turturice met with Kurowski after she took office in 2012. “He wasn’t treated any differently than anyone who does business with the city, but he did not complete tenant information or (identify) a property manager, which you must do to be entitled to your rental permit.

“We let the magistrate know he didn’t receive permits because he didn’t fill out the paperwork,” Davis said.

Attempts to reach Kurowski by phone and by email Tuesday were unsuccessful.

On Feb. 13 of this year, Kurowski paid for previous years’ delinquencies, 2010 through 2012, the mayor said. Notices this year won’t be mailed until July 1, Davis said.

Kurowski asked in his appeal that the city cooperate with his request for a class-action suit by providing a list of landlords. He also claimed he was subject to false arrest and called the city “negligent, wanton, reckless, malicious and vexatious,” acting with “callous indifference” to his rights.

“We have turned this lawsuit over to our new city solicitor,” Davis said of Jack Cambest. “I’ll let the solicitor answer the complaint on this. With me taking over last year, I can’t explain what the previous administration did.”

Online court records show that more than a dozen summary citations filed by city zoning officer Ron McIntyre against Kurowski with District Judge Robert Redlinger were withdrawn in January. The charges had the potential, Kurowski wrote, to lead to fines and incarceration.

In the same month, Kurowski filed a claim of $336 against the city, saying he incurred damages and reasonable attorney’s fees as a result of the city’s “unwarranted filing.” Redlinger decided April 22 in the city’s favor. It was this judgment that Kurowski appealed last week to Washington County Court.

The 2009 ordinance initiated the Residential Housing Rental Permit Program for the city’s estimated 2,500 rental properties, 389 of which were not legally registered in the city in 2012.

Under the ordinance, landlords are required to pay a $12 fee to register the name, address and telephone number of any tenant. Landlords also are required to furnish occupants with the latest inspection report of the property, and their rental agreement must be placed in writing.

The $12 permit fee covers the cost of running the program, Davis said, such as the mailing of forms. “It is a much cleaner database than I was dealt when I took over,” the mayor said.

The ordinance also includes a provision for disruptive tenants. If police receive three nuisance calls to a rental property in a one-year period, the owner must take action to repossess that rental unit.

The registration ordinance applies to all rental properties, including rooming houses, personal care homes and hotels.