A legal battle over a mobile home lease has unfolded in North Carolina, highlighting issues of tenant rights and landlord responsibilities. The case was filed by Martin Kent Sawyer, the Martin Kent Sawyer Revocable Trust, and Winfall Beach, LLC against Kendra Billups in Perquimans County District Court on November 28, 2023. The plaintiffs are seeking possession of a mobile home in Hertford, North Carolina, along with unpaid rent from the defendant.
The dispute centers around the termination of a lease agreement signed by Billups on December 28, 2020. According to court documents, the lease required tenants to provide a 30-day notice before vacating or face an additional month’s rent. However, Billups claims that she did not receive proper notice from her landlords before they initiated eviction proceedings. She argues that she was only informed via text message on November 28, 2022, that she needed to vacate by December 1st. This notification came after the plaintiffs attempted to send a certified mail notice that Billups could not retrieve due to losing her mailbox key.
Billups also contends that her living conditions were compromised due to unresolved maintenance issues. She reported electrical problems and a malfunctioning furnace as early as February 2022 but alleges these issues were never adequately addressed by the property manager, Kate Ferebee. Despite these complaints, the trial court awarded the plaintiffs $1,200 for past due rent while granting Billups a $150 rent abatement for five months starting December 2022.
The case took another turn when Billups appealed the decision on grounds that include inadequate notice to vacate and unfair trade practices under North Carolina law. She argues that continued demands for rent despite unaddressed habitability issues constitute unfair and deceptive trade practices (UDTP). The appeal questions whether the trial court’s findings were sufficient and supported by evidence.
In response to procedural irregularities during the appeal process, including unauthorized legal practice allegations against Ferebee who prepared documents for the plaintiffs without being licensed as an attorney in North Carolina, Billups successfully moved to strike their brief from consideration.
The appellate court found itself unable to conduct meaningful review due to insufficient factual findings at trial regarding both parties’ obligations under the lease agreement and whether conditions warranted greater rent abatement or supported UDTP claims. Consequently, it remanded the case back for further fact-finding.
Representing Kendra Billups are attorneys Celia Pistolis, Luis Juan Pinto, and Elliotte Kiel from Legal Aid of North Carolina Inc., while no representation is noted for Sawyer or his entities in this appeal phase. The case was presided over by Judge Amber Davis with Judges Arrowood and Stading concurring in this appellate opinion under Case ID No. COA24-805.
Source: COA24805_Sawyer_v_Billups_Opinion_North_Carolina_Court_of_Appeals.pdf
