Citing a history of criminal violations, the state has acted to revoke the real estate broker's license of Lance J. Robbins, who has more convictions than any landlord prosecuted by a special city unit set up to crack down on slum housing in Los Angeles, according to documents released Monday.
State Real Estate Commissioner Jeff Davi plans to revoke Robbins' license effective Nov. 23 unless he decides to grant an appeal filed by Robbins.
Robbins and his partner Stanley Treitel, their families and associates have given $16,600 in political contributions to City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo, who is responsible for prosecuting landlords. All but $1,000 of their donations came after Delgadillo settled a lawsuit against the men for $1 million, even though the city claimed they owed $3 million in delinquent water and power bills and penalties.
Davi originally decided to revoke Robbins' license effective Oct. 24, but agreed to postpone the effective date of his decision for 30 days.
Thomas A. Nitti, an attorney for Robbins, filed a motion for reconsideration on Monday. "It's unfair," Nitti said of the revocation order. "More importantly it's not supported by the evidence presented at hearing."
Nitti argued that Robbins should not be penalized by the real estate commissioner for pleading no contest in 2001 to three misdemeanor charges that one of his buildings had a blocked emergency exit, a faulty fire extinguisher and lacked proper fire alarms.
"These items aren't substantially related to the function of a real estate license holder," Nitti said. "You don't need a real estate license to check a fire extinguisher."
The administrative law judge who heard the state's argument for revocation concluded Sept. 8 that Robbins should lose his license, rejecting his lawyer's contention that there is no substantial relationship between the criminal charges and the responsibility of a license holder.
"Here there is both a profit motive and the chance of substantial injury to the person or property of another -- namely the inhabitants of the apartments," Judge N. Gregory Taylor wrote.
The judge said he also took into consideration that from 1986 to 2001 Robbins was convicted of at least 27 violations of city building codes involving multiple properties.
