Search Client Stories :: Alliance for Equal Justice

After a prolonged period of unemployment, a King County family faced foreclosure and became the victims of a mortgage rescue scam.  A group of “investors” offered to help by entering into a complicated sale-leaseback transaction that sold the home for pennies on the dollar. This deal purported to give the family...

Nancy was paying her bills one Saturday when she found a credit card bill from an unfamiliar company. The balance was already charged past the stated limit. Nancy immediately called the company to alert them to the fraudulent credit application—she had never applied for this card and, of course, never used...

A King County resident?s identity was stolen by an employee of a local car dealership. The employee used the stolen, personal information to apply for an expensive car loan for himself. Soon after getting the car, the employee stopped making payments, subjecting the identity-theft victim to aggressive collection efforts by the...

A single father living with his son in south King County was terminated from his state financial assistance because his cognitive and mental disabilities interfered with his ability to process the necessary Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) paperwork. The man had no idea why his grant was stopped, and...

A King County grandmother with limited English speaking skills sought help to get legal custody of her two young granddaughters. The children?s father was serving time in jail for an assault. Their mother, who has a history of drug abuse and homelessness, had intermittently shown up at the grandmother?s house unannounced...

Jennifer sought civil legal aid after she received a notice from her landlord that her lease was being terminated so that the landlord could move in to her apartment. Jennifer had lived there for many years and had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Friends and caseworkers told Jennifer that the...

A veteran plagued with disabling health problems sought legal help when he received a 20-day notice of eviction and the loss of his rent assistance because he was unable to move in time. The landlord?s action was presumptively retaliatory because the 20-day notice was given within 90 days after the Human...

A King County disabled man sought legal help when he was denied Medicaid coverage for surgery to have numerous teeth removed. DSHS had approved his doctor?s request for partial dentures, but the man would not be able to wear the dentures without having the surgery. Without these procedures, the man would...

Bonnie and William's trouble began when William had to stop working after a car accident, which left him with a broken neck, C 4/5 and 6, and spinal stenosis. They were forced to spend their savings, retirement monies and pawn their belongings to keep up with their house payments. A middle-class...

Chandra came from Taiwan as a young single mother. She was accepted into an intensive English language training program sponsored by the federal Department of Defense. This program offers a living stipend because participants are required to devote themselves full-time, and are prohibited from working outside the program. Chandra applied for...

A victim of domestic violence sought legal help to separate from her husband, who had abused her for years. Her husband sought unrestricted contact with their son and opposed the woman and child?s move out of state where she had family who could help support her.? A legal aid attorney helped...

A King County single mother was victimized by a payday lender. The woman began getting payday loans to make ends meet when her rent and utilities became too expensive for her employment income to cover. She got to the point where she had to take out new payday loans to pay...

A 73-year-old woman from King County was denied Medicaid coverage for a temporary cast metal denture. The woman required a replacement of her denture, which she had had for 37 years as a result of a car accident when she was younger. DSHS maintained that the denture was not medically necessary....