Oakland City Attorney Ryan Richardson filed a lawsuit against landlord Mosser Companies and its CEO, Neveo Mosser, over a 52-day elevator outage at a downtown apartment building that left elderly and disabled residents unable to leave or return to their homes without climbing multiple flights of stairs. The suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court on Tuesday, centers on La Peralta, a six-story residential building on 13th Street.
According to KTVU, the city is accusing the downtown landlord of violating an elevator maintenance ordinance that governs how quickly repairs must happen and what landlords owe tenants when they don't. As reported by SFGATE, the case marks the first time Oakland has gone to court to enforce that law, and it names both the company and Neveo Mosser personally as defendants.
A Law Built to Stop Exactly This
Oakland's Elevator Maintenance Ordinance was adopted by the City Council on July 30, 2024, and took effect that December. It requires landlords of buildings with three or more units to keep elevators operable, give tenants advance notice of routine maintenance, and temporarily relocate residents with physical or mobility disabilities if an elevator stays broken for more than 24 hours, per the Oakland City Attorney's Office.
The financial stakes for landlords who ignore that relocation requirement are steep. Astanehe Law notes that the ordinance allows for statutory damages of up to $2,500 per day for each day a landlord unlawfully fails to relocate an eligible tenant during an extended outage, on top of potential liability for attorney fees and litigation costs.
Firefighters Called to Carry Residents Down Stairs
The human toll described in the city's complaint is stark. During the 52-day outage at La Peralta last summer, emergency medical responders were repeatedly called in to carry residents down the stairs, and a fourth-floor tenant living with lung disease reportedly had to rest 10 to 15 minutes between flights just to reach her own apartment, according to The Oaklandside. The city alleges Mosser offered that tenant a smaller unit on a lower floor but demanded the same rent, along with a new security deposit.
The lawsuit isn't citing an isolated incident. Oakland Fire Department records included in the complaint show firefighters carried out 14 emergency rescues of tenants trapped in elevators across Mosser-owned properties between 2024 and 2025, the same account notes.
Broader Habitability Complaints at La Peralta
Beyond the elevator failures, Oakland's complaint alleges wider habitability problems at La Peralta, including unaddressed pest infestations, structural damage, and security issues that the city says violate its Tenant Protection Ordinance. Mosser Companies is a major Bay Area residential landlord, with CEO Neveo Mosser's father, Charles Mosser, having begun acquiring local properties back in 1981, according to prior Hoodline reporting.
Mosser has faced tenant pushback elsewhere in the region. Hoodline previously reported on a rent standoff involving the company on Valencia Street in San Francisco, where tenants organized a rent strike over a separate relocation dispute.
Part of a Wider Crackdown on Negligent Landlords
La Peralta is not the only Oakland apartment building where broken elevators have turned into a legal fight this year. In July, nearly 70 residents of Oakland Station, a 324-unit affordable housing building in East Oakland, filed a 180-page lawsuit against their property managers alleging broken elevators, cockroach infestations, and fraud, after firefighters had to carry a paralyzed resident down six flights of stairs during a 2024 outage, The Oaklandside reported.
City Attorney Richardson has also been pursuing other corporate landlords over habitability violations. Also in July, his office secured a court-enforceable agreement extending municipal and judicial oversight over landlord Dodg Corp. through September 2029, following a motion for contempt after inspectors found unresolved fire damage, mold, and a lack of heat across its properties, according to the Oakland City Attorney's Office.
