Photo by Deb Gau Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has settled a lawsuit filed against a Marshall rental property owner in a case involving a tenant who allegedly had the electricity cut off in her apartment on Dano Circle.

MARSHALL — The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office has settled a lawsuit it brought against a Marshall property owner last month for alleged violation of one of Gov. Tim Walz’s executive orders.

Attorney General Keith Ellison announced last week that his office had resolved an enforcement action against Greg Taylor in the case of a tenant who allegedly had the electricity cut off in her apartment.

Denying utilities to tenants violates Minnesota’s landlord-tenant laws, as well as an executive order that prohibits landlords from filing eviction actions during the COVID-19 peacetime emergency, the Attorney General’s Office said.

“Having a safe, affordable roof over your head is essential to living with dignity and respect. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s essential to protecting people’s lives,” Ellison said in a news release.

Taylor declined to comment to the Independent on the settlement.

A judge’s order filed in Lyon County District Court July 13 required Taylor to restore electricity in the apartment and give the tenant a rental credit.

The state sued Taylor on July 6, court records said. A civil complaint alleged Taylor failed to respond to repeated requests to restore electricity to an apartment in a complex he owns at 1001 Dano Circle. Without power, food in the apartment’s refrigerator spoiled and the apartment became uninhabitable, the complaint alleged. The tenant was later locked out of the apartment, and had to get in through a patio door in order to get her diabetes medication, the complaint alleged.

The complaint alleged Taylor violated Executive Order 20-14, which prohibits property owners from filing eviction actions or terminating leases during the COVID-19 peacetime emergency. Under Minnesota’s landlord-tenant laws, it is also illegal for a property owner to interrupt electricity, heat, gas or water services to a tenant, the Attorney General’s Office said. Disconnecting those services is considered a constructive eviction, the Attorney General’s Office said.

On July 13, a district court judge signed a consent judgment and order in the case, requiring Taylor to restore electricity in the apartment and give the tenant credit for two-and-a-half months of rent. If Taylor violates any terms of the order, he will have to pay a civil penalty of $5,000, the judgment and order said.

Among other terms, the consent judgment and order said Taylor neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the civil complaint.

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office has settled four lawsuits about eviction actions filed since March 13, including the suit in Marshall. A fifth case is still being litigated, the Attorney General’s Office said.

“The vast majority of landlords and tenants are doing the right thing by each other and their communities during the pandemic, and I thank them for it. My office has received nearly 1,000 housing complaints in the last several months,” Ellison said. “We’ve taken that opportunity to educate landlords and tenants around Minnesota about their rights and responsibilities during the peacetime emergency. In almost every case, we’ve won voluntary compliance with Minnesota law and the governor’s executive orders. But when landlords won’t comply, my office will continue to bring enforcement actions to secure tenants’ rights.”.