Shala Malek v. Valentia Apartments, LLC, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedMarch 30, 2026
Docket3:24-cv-02076
StatusUnknown

This text of Shala Malek v. Valentia Apartments, LLC, et al. (Shala Malek v. Valentia Apartments, LLC, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shala Malek v. Valentia Apartments, LLC, et al., (S.D. Cal. 2026).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 SHALA MALEK, Case No.: 25cv2076-LL-BLM

12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND 13 v. DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS 14 VALENTIA APARTMENTS, LLC, et al.,

15 Defendants. [ECF No. 21] 16 17 18 Pending before the Court is Defendants Valentia Apartments, LLC, Shea Properties 19 Management Company, Inc., and Danielle Harris’ (collectively “Defendants”) Motion to 20 Dismiss Plaintiff Shala Malek’s (“Plaintiff”) First Amended Complaint [ECF No. 18 21 (“FAC”)] pursuant to Rules 12(b)(6) and 12(e) (the “Motion”). ECF No. 21. Plaintiff 22 opposed the Motion and Defendants replied. The Court finds this matter suitable for 23 determination on the papers and without oral argument pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7.1. 24 For the reasons below, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART 25 Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss. 26 I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND 27 Plaintiff is a 62-year-old lessor of Valentia Apartments who suffers from several 28 disabilities, including “multiple chemical sensitivities (‘MCS’); osteoarthritis, of multiple 1 joints, osteoporosis, chronic neck/back pain, unsteady gait, chronic fatigue, chronic 2 fibromyalgia, severe anxiety, allergy contact dermatitis, and neuropathy . . .” and requires 3 an oxygen tank to assist her breathing. FAC ¶¶ 4–5, 15. She first signed a lease agreement 4 with Defendants for rental unit 336 on October 31, 2019. Id. ¶ 13. Prior to signing the lease, 5 Plaintiff informed Defendants that it was necessary for her and her son to “reside in an 6 environment that was completely free from mold, hazardous chemicals, dust, and 7 allergens” due to her and her son’s asthma. Id. ¶ 15. 8 Upon moving into unit 366, Plaintiff noticed several water leaks around the 9 apartment which led to “damp, moist and wet conditions” that were “hazardous” to her 10 health. Id. ¶ 20. Because of this, Plaintiff requested transfer to unit 242 in November 2019. 11 Unfortunately, unit 242 had similar conditions, including “defective weather stripping at 12 the front door” and “defectively installed” rain gutters, which allowed water to accumulate 13 in and around the unit and exacerbated Plaintiff’s respiratory illnesses. Id. ¶¶ 27–29, 37. 14 On January 14, 2020, Plaintiff sent an email to Defendant Harris, the on-site property 15 supervisor of Defendants, with a list of items that needed repair. Id. ¶¶ 8, 25. Defendants 16 either ignored Plaintiff’s requests or “ma[d]e faulty and unprofessional attempted repairs.” 17 Id. ¶ 37. 18 That same year, Defendants attempted to evict Plaintiff, alleging she was failing to 19 pay her rent. Id. ¶ 31. Towards the end of 2020, Defendants “forced” Plaintiff to sign an 20 agreement that allowed her to remain in the unit for an additional six months as an 21 accommodation for her disabilities. Id. ¶ 33. On February 5, 2021, Defendants served 22 Plaintiff with a 60-day notice of termination containing “false allegations of violations of 23 the lease agreement” and “unsubstantiated allegations of creating disturbances” in unit 242. 24 Id. ¶ 35. 25 From 2022 to 2023, Plaintiff continued informing Defendants of defects and 26 hazardous chemicals in her unit that were negatively impacting her health, some of which 27 Defendants failed to repair. Id. ¶¶ 40–41, 43, 53, 54, 55. On October 2, 2023, one of 28 Defendants’ employees showed Plaintiff a two-bedroom “disability accessible” rental unit. 1 Id. ¶ 45. Defendant Harris told Plaintiff that the employee should not have done so and told 2 other employees in the rental unit they were not to have any contact with Plaintiff without 3 her authorization. Id. ¶ 46. On October 5, 2023, Defendant Harris informed Plaintiff she 4 was not eligible for transfer to another unit because Plaintiff “supposedly” owed 5 Defendants money from a “COVID-19 rent dispute.” Id. ¶ 48. That same day, Plaintiff 6 hired a mold inspection specialist who determined that there were “elevated moisture levels 7 in the kitchen, living room, both bedrooms and both bathrooms” and “elevated humidity 8 levels above 80%” in Plaintiff’s unit. Id. ¶ 56. The inspector’s findings also indicated mold 9 growth under the kitchen sink and “the possibility of [s]tachybotrys or black mold” present 10 inside the unit’s walls Id. ¶ 61. The inspector recommended Plaintiff’s personal items be 11 sterilized and moved to prevent further contamination. Id. ¶¶ 62–63. Defendants refused to 12 sterilize or move Plaintiff’s items and agreed to remediate the kitchen area only. Id. ¶ 64. 13 Plaintiff’s sensitivity to these conditions grew worse as she remained in the unit, and as a 14 result, she relocated to a hotel on October 29, 2023. Id. ¶¶ 65, 69. Plaintiff then filed the 15 current suit on November 5, 2024. 16 II. LEGAL STANDARD 17 On a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), dismissal is 18 appropriate only when the complaint does not give the defendant fair notice of a legally 19 cognizable claim and the grounds on which it rests. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 20 544, 555 (2007)). To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a plaintiff only needs to plead 21 “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 22 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). A claim is facially plausible 23 “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable 24 inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. 25 In reviewing the plausibility of a complaint, courts “accept factual allegations in the 26 complaint as true and construe the pleadings in the light most favorable to the nonmoving 27 party.” Manzarek v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 519 F.3d 1025, 1031 (9th Cir. 2008). 28 Nevertheless, courts do not “accept as true allegations that are merely conclusory, 1 unwarranted deductions of fact, or unreasonable inferences.” In re Gilead Scis. Sec. Litig., 2 536 F.3d 1049, 1055 (9th Cir. 2008) (quotation omitted). 3 III. DISCUSSION 4 Defendants claim that all of Plaintiff’s ten causes of action are barred by statute of 5 limitations and must be dismissed. Mot. at 2. 6 A. Statute of Limitations 7 1. Fair Housing Act and Fair Employment Housing Act 8 Under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), a plaintiff must file suit within two years after 9 “the occurrence or the termination of an alleged discriminatory housing practice.” 42 10 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A). However, where a plaintiff “challenges not just one incident of 11 conduct violative of the Act, but an unlawful practice that continues into the limitation 12 period, the complaint is timely when it is filed within [two years] of the last asserted 13 occurrence of that practice.” Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman, 455 U.S. 363, 380–81 14 (1982). Congress has since codified this continuing violation doctrine by amending the 15 FHA to include both “the occurrence [and] the termination of an alleged discriminatory 16 housing practice” as events triggering the two-year statute of limitations. 42 U.S.C. § 17 3613(a)(1)(A). Garcia v. Brockway, 526 F.3d 456, 461–62 (9th Cir. 2008).

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Shala Malek v. Valentia Apartments, LLC, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shala-malek-v-valentia-apartments-llc-et-al-casd-2026.