An Ohio businessman is suing San Francisco in federal court over a local ordinance his lawyers say punishes him for trying to convert his residential rental property into a condominium, by forcing him to allow his tenant to remain in the property for life in one of the tightest real estate markets in the country.
Plaintiff Peyman Pakdel’s lawsuit seeking to overturn the local law was rejected on Nov. 20, 2017, by San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama. Seeborg sided with San Francisco, finding, in accordance with a 34-year-old Supreme Court precedent, that Pakdel should have brought the suit in state courts first.
