When a local mother and her four children found themselves being poisoned by lead in the place they called home, facing eviction and an uncertain future, they reached out to Notre Dame Law School’s Eviction Clinic. The clinic assisted them in navigating the eviction process and managing their relationship with their landlord, ultimately resulting in an amicable settlement and a fresh start for the family.

South Bend native Sarinna Diaz was not comfortable with the man who was landlord of the 1860’s home she and her four children lived in.

“I felt intimidated by him, but I wasn’t sure what to do,” said Diaz.

She tolerated the discomfort because she knew she would have a hard time finding somewhere else for herself and her children to live. However, when her children began to get sick, and the house was identified as the culprit, she realized she might not have an option.

“My youngest–the baby–got sick first,” said Diaz. “When his tests showed that he had high levels of lead, I brought in my other kids, who were also starting to get sick. My three youngest boys ended up all testing positive for lead.”

Although the 150 year-old home they lived in was a little run-down, Diaz never suspected that it might be making her family ill. After her children tested positive for high levels of lead, Diaz requested that the St. Joseph CountyHealth Department carry out lead tests in their home–which revealed high levels in multiple places.

When she notified him of the lead that had been found throughout the house, Diaz’s landlord offered to reduce her rent for the months the lead was in the home and compensate her if she would complete home renovation projects. The more work she did, though, the worse things got.

“He began to text and call me constantly, asking for updates about the renovations, about why I wasn’t getting things done quicker,” said Diaz of her landlord. “He began to refer to the lead in the home as ‘our problem,’ and wanted to know when it was going to be fixed.”

Diaz decided it was time to find a new place for her family to live and had already begun to pack her belongings when she was notified that not only was she being evicted, but her landlord was holding her responsible for thousands of dollars of unpaid rent from the months he had lowered her rent due to the lead in the home.

It was then that Diaz realized she needed support, and her children’s grandmother recommended she reach out to the Law School’s Eviction Clinic.

“When Ms. Diaz first came to the clinic, I saw a mom trying to help her kids. I wanted to do whatever I could to help her,” said Summer Taylor, a recent Notre Dame Law School graduate. Taylor worked at the clinic during the spring 2024 semester and was assigned to Diaz’s case under the supervision of David Pruitt, the Clinical Law Center program director and attorney.

Having reviewed the eviction notice against Diaz, as well as the allegations regarding money owed, Taylor recommended that they file a motion to dismiss, which they were able to support thanks to the large amount of evidence documenting the facts of the situation collected and maintained by Diaz.

Taylor found that the claims being made against Diaz were meritless and should not be taken to court–an assertion that even Diaz’s landlord was ultimately unable to deny.

“He called around 6 o’clock one evening and said two magic words: ‘I’m listening,’” recalls Taylor. “I knew I had to get the settlement to him that night.”

Following extensive negotiations, Diaz and her landlord reached an agreement. Diaz was able to move out of the lead-filled home without paying the thousands of dollars she allegedly owed, and she successfully sealed her eviction record. At the conclusion of the case, her landlord expressed thanks to the clinic for mediating the situation.

“Landlords think no one is going to call them out, because tenants rarely have counsel but landlords almost always do. I got involved with the Eviction Clinic because I wanted to change that,” said Taylor. “What I appreciate most about the clinic and the work we do is that, through our advocacy for our clients, we are bettering the South Bend community and the housing situation for everyone–not just the people we work directly with.”

Since the case’s conclusion, Diaz and her children have purchased and moved into a new home and the children’s health continues to improve. They still face lead-related concerns, but they undergo testing every three months, and Diaz is optimistic that they will return to full health in the near future.

“One of the most important things Summer and the Eviction Clinic gave me is confidence in myself,” said Diaz. “Before the lead, and before the eviction, my landlord was a problem and made me uncomfortable. I was scared of him then–and now I’m not.”

The Notre Dame Law School Clinical Law Center, established in 1951 and supporting the Law School’s mission to “educate a different kind of lawyer,” is dedicated to providing students with hands-on, practical lawyering skills while working directly with clients and in the courtroom. Simultaneously, it also serves unmet legal needs in underserved populations and furthers social justice in the greater South Bend community. Since 1990, more than 2000 Notre Dame Law students have participated in a clinic.

Additional information about the Eviction Clinic and other clinics and experiential learning programs at Notre Dame Law School is available here.

Originally published by Sarah Doerr at law.nd.edu on October 17, 2024.