The eviction lawsuits brought against tenants of four derelict East Durham properties that Leonzo Lynch and his sister, former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, inherited from their father last year have been resolved, according to court records.
Robbie Breitweiser, the Legal Aid attorney who represented the tenants, tells the INDY the parties in the cases INDY wrote about in May “entered into private settlement agreements” over the summer.
The agreements “contain standard confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions,” Breitweiser says, “so neither I nor the tenants represented by Legal Aid can discuss the terms of the settlements or offer much comment beyond that.”
Leonzo Lynch sued to evict the tenants last summer for staying past the terms of leases they’d signed with his father, Rev. Lorenzo Lynch Sr. The elder Lynch died in January 2023 at age 90 and left 18 properties, including 12 in Durham, to his children.
In response to the lawsuits, the tenants, who allege that their homes had been left in disrepair for years, filed counterclaims seeking damages. In November a Durham County magistrate ruled that the tenants did deserve compensation, awarding $2,500 to one tenant and $10,000 to four others.