My experience with Palomino Crossing. Eviction Awareness.
Note: I published this column under my username '19Reggie85' on Newsbreak.
Illiana received SSI payments every month, so she always covered the rent. I worked for Uber/Lyft, which was my only source of income, so I often paid rent late, but we managed to maintain our housing for four years.
July 2023 was the month that flipped our lives, both for good and bad. Illiana paid the rent on July 5th, but her portion wasn’t accounted for in the system. I no longer drive for Uber, so I paid my rent and late fees with my savings. However, I didn’t realize that Illiana’s July rent check wasn’t recorded, which ended up affecting our August and September rents.
I had no income for the August rent since I had just started a regular job. Illiana paid her August rent, which was the last rent check made to Palomino Crossing Apartments! Of course, I signed a partial payment agreement with a money order I got from pawning my laptop. However, since I was still new on the job, I wouldn't get my first paycheck until September. Therefore, I still needed to find money for the rest of the August rent since our grace period had been exhausted.
Fast forward to a conversation with my mom about budget numbers. She noticed something off and asked me about Illiana’s July rent check. If she paid her portion, why did I have to pay late fees on top of my July rent?
Illiana went to the payee agency to get a copy of her bank statement and found that her July rent payment was never processed—it was still sitting in the agency's bank. I brought the documents to the office to sort it out, but they insisted that Illiana’s rent had been accounted for and that I still owed them money.Illiana went to the office and explained what she found. Somehow, the manager realized the situation had turned against them when they saw that her July rent had been misplaced. Instead of owning up to the mistake and working it out with us, the property manager seemed to stall, telling Illiana they would call her back—but they never did. I went to the office a few times to get clarification on the missing July rent check, but the property manager just told me to pay the outstanding balance. In my mind, it didn’t make sense to pay that balance if the July rent check was never accounted for.
On September 18th, I had my last meeting with the property manager. My friend facilitated the meeting as an ASL interpreter so I could communicate effectively with the manager instead of going back and forth with written notes.
The property manager told me they acknowledged the check and found it in the office but couldn't work it out with us because eviction proceedings had already begun. In fact, before September 18th, the office had two weeks to resolve this issue, but they never did. It makes me wonder if they even spoke with the higher-ups ('AZ 1st Realty bosses') about it. I reached out to them via the secured email provided on the AZ 1st Realty website, but I never heard back.
On September 19th, we received an eviction notice in the mailbox, and I went to the court to request an ASL interpreter for the September 25th hearing. Defense counsel was provided by Pima County Emergency Eviction Legal Services. We explained to the counsel what had happened. On September 25th, the ASL interpreter wasn’t present at the hearing, so the court rescheduled it for October 4th. But since September 2023 was the final month of our lease, it didn’t make sense to renew it in the middle of eviction proceedings, so we vacated the premises on September 30th.
Everything was cleared out by 5 PM on September 30th. Illiana and Malik had a place to stay. I could have ended up on the street, but luckily, I stayed at a friend’s house near UA during the week and with a couple on weekends.
I got surprising news before the hearing on October 4th—the eviction case was dismissed. From what I understand, according to Arizona Statute 33-1379, if both parties reach a resolution, the case must be dismissed and sealed. In our case, the Plaintiff (Andmark Palomino Crossing Apartment LLC) never reached out to us for a resolution, but since we left the premises without renewing the lease on September 30th, what else was there to pursue, other than amounts owed—which they never seemed to intend to pursue? If they decide to pursue what we owe, they might have to address the July rent issue in court. I suspect they might have acknowledged this but chose to dismiss the case without pursuing the debt collection. What really bothers me is that the property manager knew the rent check was misplaced while it was in their possession for two months, yet they still decided to initiate eviction proceedings. Maybe they were trying to avoid getting in trouble with AZ 1st Realty’s corporate bosses?
I feel that the dismissal alone wasn’t enough. Given the significant financial damages and the mental crisis I went through, I decided to pursue a civil lawsuit, even though defense counsel advised against it (now I understand why they didn’t think a lawsuit was the best solution). Despite the unsuccessful lawsuits, I gained basic legal skills and a fresh, insightful understanding. If I had the opportunity to start all over again, writing a letter to AZ 1st Realty CEO Anna Diaz (with certified mail and return receipt, of course), along with a copy of the letter to Holliday, Holliday, and Hull law firm, would have been my very first step. It would have helped build my legal foundation in my defense strategy against eviction and even in the plaintiff strategy for a civil lawsuit. Unfortunately, prior to the eviction action, I had zero legal knowledge, which put me in a bad situation. That’s why I’m committed to hosting the event, 'Eviction Prevention and Housing Resources,' at the Tucson Deaf Convention Center on May 10, 2025. I hope agencies plan to participate so Deaf and hard-of-hearing people have the opportunity to ask questions or speak out!
Again, I'm not writing to humiliate the former landlord team at Palomino Crossing Apartments or their corporate bosses at AZ 1st Realty, but to educate people on how to protect themselves when dealing with wrongful eviction actions. When I talk about wrongful eviction actions, I'm not referring to a landlord's retaliatory practices against you for not paying rent. I'm talking about wrongdoings that impact your housing resources when you have fulfilled your obligations as a tenant, like paying rent, which Illiana already did. Even though it was her own rent check, she barely fought for it, so I did most of the fighting.
If you're an agency that provides eviction prevention and housing resources here in Tucson, I'd be glad to invite you to the event, where you could provide a presentation or resources. If you're interested in attending the event as participants, you're welcome to join. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
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