You may be able to claim if Baltimore evicted you between March 2020 and October 2025 and you lost belongings left in the unit. The proposal would pay $11 million to settle claims that evicted tenants' property was treated as abandoned and then kept, sold or thrown away. A warrant of restitution is a court order that lets the sheriff return the rental to the landlord. The Baltimore Chronicle, citing the Maryland Daily Record, reports the city seeks the $11 million payment in its settlement eligibility guide.
Official resources:
- Read the official notice from Baltimorechronicle — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
- Read the official notice from Zuckerman — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
Table of Contents
- What rule is at issue?
- Do you fit the proposed group?
- Which eviction types face a limit?
- What must happen before anyone is paid?
- What did lost property cost one couple?
What rule is at issue?
The Zuckerman Spaeder press release quotes Baltimore City Housing Code §8A-4 in its case summary. The code says all property in or about the leased unit when the warrant is executed is abandoned.
That label lets a landlord send goods to landfill, donate them or dispose of them by other legal means, including keeping or selling them. The 2022 federal case filed by Iesha and Embria Henriques against the city and their former landlord challenges that rule, the Baltimore Chronicle reports.
Do you fit the proposed group?
The Baltimore Chronicle reports the proposed class covers city tenants evicted under a warrant between March 2020 and October 2025. It includes people who lost furniture, documents, electronics, clothing or keepsakes left in the unit at eviction.
The Law Offices of Joseph S. Mack say anyone evicted on or after March 6, 2020 who lost belongings may have a city claim. That office offers contingency and fee-shifting review through an intake form.
- Baltimore City tenant with a sheriff-executed warrant of restitution
- Eviction date between March 2020 and October 2025
- Furniture, papers, electronics, clothing or keepsakes left in the unit and then lost
Which eviction types face a limit?
The Law Offices of Joseph S. Mack explain the limit in their ordinance analysis.
The constitutional ruling covers only eviction types where tenants were not warned belongings would be deemed abandoned. Those cases are tenant holding-over, wrongful-detainer and breach-of-lease cases. Check your court papers for that case label before you assume you qualify.
What must happen before anyone is paid?
The settlement is not final. The Baltimore Chronicle reports it still needs approval by Baltimore's Board of Estimates for the city share and by the federal judge.
The report lists no published vote date, and the case sits before Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby. Maryland Access to Justice Commission proposals from April 11, 2025 would add 14-day mailed and posted notice before a warrant is executed. Tenants would then get a 10-day no-fee reclaim period, with landlords returning sale proceeds above back rent and costs.
What did lost property cost one couple?
The Zuckerman Spaeder account says a couple evicted July 31, 2019 while away lost packed goods meant for next-day moving. Jewelry, electronics, furniture and a relative's ashes were claimed by the landlord under city law. After a September 2022 liability ruling, they won $36,000 for property plus $150,000 for emotional distress on Feb.
1. List what was left, gather leases, warrants, photos and receipts, and keep them together. Watch for Board and court approval notices before you send originals anywhere.