In August, Eddie Logan, an Army veteran and lifelong St. Louis resident lost the right to his home due to a remote eviction trial he could only access by telephone. Concerned about the conditions in his home, Mr. Logan repeatedly attempted to deliver evidence to the court prior to his trial. Each time court officials turned him away because the court lacked a process to accept evidence during the pandemic. On the date of his remote trial, Mr. Logan could not get the video conference app to work on his phone. Without the benefit of any documents to support his case, Mr. Logan was forced to dial into his eviction trial by telephone. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Logan lost his trial and was ordered to vacate his home and pay nearly $3,000 in rent.
Upon learning of Mr. Logan’s case, ACD filed an emergency lawsuit on his behalf. When our lawsuit reached the Missouri Supreme Court, the judge granted Mr. Logan a new trial. As the result of our subsequent advocacy, we were able to keep an eviction judgment off Mr. Logan’s record, save him thousands of dollars in rent, and help him relocate to a new home.