The clash began after Spring refused to pay a $287 electrician’s bill that his landlord forwarded him for the repair of a burnt-out socket in his unit. Shortly after, the landlord notified Spring that his rent would increase by $100 per month.
The jury awarded Spring $16,000 — an amount that Oregon law doubles to $32,000 because of the nature of the violation. On top of that, Spring’s attorneys also are entitled to ask a judge to order the landlord to pay all of Spring’s legal fees, an amount that currently stands at $225,000.
I feel like there should be a circuit-breaker that stops the money flowing past a certain point. I don’t care what accounting magic you use, a few hundred bucks should never balloon to 250k.
If the landlord dragged the proceedings in order to push their tenant into being unable to sue anymore, it’s perfectly reasonable for said landlord to be fully on the hook for everything. He’s lucky he’s not charged for the court’s time as well.
And if the landlord hadn’t been such a shithead, it wouldn’t have.