Imagine living in an apartment complex where you get threats of eviction when your kids play outside without supervision.
That rule was a reality for dozens of Carmel Valley families. And now the complex is about to pay up.
The warnings began as soon as Landon Whitby's son got old enough to play outside. He said they were over something he thought was every kid's right - to freely play outside.
But not at Carmel Valley's Windwood Village Complex, unless an adult watched over.
"My kids would go out onto the grass, right behind our apartment if they were playing with friends, and management would come and kick them off the grass and send them home," Whitby said.
And then they'd slap the parents with a warning of eviction in three days unless it stopped.
But that all changed once Whitby teamed up with other parents in the complex to sue owner Chelsea Investments and property manager ConAm for discrimination. The two sides reached a settlement agreement that pays families up to $3,000.
Robert Juskie, the attorney for Chelsea and ConAm, said the lawsuit was a shame but that the companies are looking forward to getting back to business. He declined to comment on the facts in the suit.
But the settlement means more than just money.
"Kids can play outside and I think they're being respectful of the property and other tenants as well," Whitby said.
Another resident who has kids said he's lived in the complex for more than a year without any problems with them playing outside.
And the same can now be said for Whitby's son and his three siblings, years in the making.
A judge is expected to consider the agreement in the coming months.
