Tecorya Davis entered the courtroom with a shuffle. Head lowered, shoulders hunched, tears falling silently.
In late October, she commented, “I just can’t believe I got here.” Davis left Ventex, a subcontractor for Xfinity, a telecom provider, after suffering a concussion at work. On October 5, an eviction notice slipped through the crack of her apartment door in Braeswood after she fell behind on her rent.
Despite facing eviction in Harris and Montgomery counties previously, the amateur boxer never appeared in court.
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For me, everything seemed unreal. “I felt ashamed,” Davis said. I was reluctant to call for assistance.
The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) project, which awarded a $11.5 million funding to two Harris County eviction courts to develop eviction diversion programs in 24 U.S. courts, allowed Davis Landlord to submit a petition in Harris County Precinct 1, Place 2.
Not everyone in the Harris County courts gets a lawyer. A new hub could help those in need.
by Staff Writer Clare Amari
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This year, the effort began at the court of Judge Steven Duble. According to a Houston Landing review of court data, as of Nov. 30, 2024, there were 44% fewer default judgments—when a tenant automatically loses their case to a landlord by failing to appear—in Duble’s court than there were in January.
An eviction coordinator is funded by the grant program, and their primary responsibility is to get in touch with renters prior to their hearings and provide them with assistance. According to Duble, the small action has had a big effect.
From January 2021 to December 2023, landlords won by default judgment in nearly one-third of all cases in Duble’s eviction court. Just 19% of cases over the previous 12 months ended in a default judgment.
According to Duble, if your default rates are high, the Texas Supreme Court is worried. People lose faith in the legal system if they believe they are not receiving justice.
The judge stated that default judgments are not limited to Texas.Fifty percent of eviction cases nationwide inevitably end in a default, according to the NCSC.
A text makes a difference
Davis can fight.
“I box when I have money and when I’m broke,” she remarked.
The veteran of the U.S. Army drove a truck for a number of years and was in the service from July 2010 to October 2012. Although she has occasionally had contracted jobs, boxing has always been her passion.
However, she had to decline a deal to fight semi-professionally in Alabama after suffering a concussion and leaving a job that Davis said wasn’t paying her adequately. She had lost all hope by the time she received the eviction notice for her apartment on Kirby Drive.
Before her court appearance, Loreta Kovacic, Duble’s eviction organizer, texted Davis to stress how crucial it was that she show up for her hearing.
“Miss Loreta fought for me,” Davis stated. It was undoubtedly an indication that I was going to lose my position.
On October 29, she appeared in court with more than $1,600 in unpaid rent.
I understand that you require time, correct? Kovacic questioned Davis. A job and time?
Davis gave a nod.
The 33-year-old looked at her phone, where she was enrolled in a Zoom job training course on how to Dress for Success, and tapped her foot uncomfortably.
Diversion programs are crucial because many persons facing eviction believe everything is lost when they receive a notice to evacuate, according to Kelly Young, president and CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County.
What difference, you suppose, will going to court make? “Young said.” People don’t always realize that there can be a reconciliation process. In general, contact benefits individuals in all social services.
Court’s intervention creates opportunity
Tenants who meet the financial requirements are matched with Lone Star Legal Aid attorneys who volunteer their services as part of the diversion process in Duble’s court.
At her hearing in late October, Davis was represented by Evan Wright, a lawyer with Lone Star.
In order to reach a settlement between Davis and her rental management property, Duble mandated that Wright and Davis’ landlord seek mediation with Fred Kransy, a volunteer mediator and lawyer. Kransy arranged for Davis to return to court on Tuesday, November 26 with a month or so to pay her rent.
During the discussion, Kransy informed Davis’ landlord that they were dealing with a bureaucracy.
After speaking with the Texas Veterans Commission, Davis was informed that they could complete her intake paperwork and authorize up to $3,000 in rental assistance within a few weeks.
However, Kransy stated that Davis might have been forced to pay her rent right away if the court hadn’t stepped in to postpone the hearing that day.
The diversion program transfers the burden from a renter to the program, according to Samira Nazem, a key management consultant for the NCSC.
According to Nazem, you often need to phone 20 locations for rental assistance. Suddenly, it becomes a logical conundrum: On the third Wednesday of this month, call around this church. And it is a significant request we make of those who are experiencing a crisis.
‘Dismiss this case’
The assistant community manager for the Davis housing complex, Rubi Ayala-Mercado, sent Duble an email on November 15.
Since Tecorya paid the rent for October and November, we would like to dismiss this matter, she wrote.
That same day, the judge issued an order of dismissal.
According to Davis, “I’m proud to say I’m in a position to be blessed.”
In addition to starting a new work as a warehouse production supervisor on December 27 and hoping to launch her own business in the new year, she obtained rental aid from the Texas Veterans Commission.
According to Davis, the objective would be to start Beast Mutt Rescue Academy, a business she intends to make a non-profit organization that teaches children aged 6 to 14 the fundamentals of boxing as well as mental toughness.
She said, “I’m not just training you to be a boxer.” I’m getting you ready to face life head-on every day.
For Davis, the battle goes on in new ways. She was accepted into the Texas Workforce Commission’s apprenticeship program, which will start in February 2025 and prepare her to become a child development associate.
According to Kovacic, interventions in eviction courts are crucial, but not all cases are successful, and it can be challenging to determine when diversion is effective.
“I can’t tell if sending someone to a particular location will be successful,” she added. These daily thank-you texts from folks who say, “Thank you, this worked,” are currently one way I gauge progress.
All things considered, there has been progress as Duble has added more time, information, and resources to his court from Kovacic to an eviction mediation team composed of volunteer attorneys like Kransy, a resource center with access to legal information, and a hybrid court option that permits tenants to appear via Zoom.
He answered, “It’s a scale.” Sometimes it’s a gain to simply slow down the process.
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Harris County eviction court diversion results in 44% drop of cases landlord wins by default
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