ATLANTA — An Atlanta mother and daughter were awarded more than $121,000 in a settlement after they were wrongfully evicted from their new business in late March 2023.
Monica McKelvy and her daughter, Rey Sunshine, bought a building to be a multi-use space. The building would have served as a hair salon, dance studio, music artist development and photography studio.
But just a few weeks before their grand opening, deputies removed all of their belongings and dumped them on the side of the road.
"It really destroyed us completely to have all of your belongings put out," McKelvey said.
The two said they signed a lease agreement and paid a $6,000 deposit. They also spent more than $30,000 on renovations.
Urban Suburban, a property management company, then served them with a petition for ejection.
"It’s actually a devastating situation because it has impacted us financially, and it has hurt our hearts," McKelvy said.
The petition for ejection stated that "US Intl LLC has never given permission to anyone to rent or lease the property and never authorized Monica McKelvey and Rey Sunshine to occupy this location."
It appeared to conflict with the lease agreement as well as other documents and correspondence between McKelvey and the owners.
The ejection went as far as to call McKelvey and her daughter intruders and squatters. Rey Sunshine said the statement was hurtful.
But that financial situation changed last month when McKelvy and her daughter were awarded $121,456.67 in damages. They received financial settlement for the following categories:
- $58,884 for lost revenue
- $6,000 for paid rent
- $15,050 for tenant improvements
- $10,022.67 for utility expenses
- $31,500 for the fair market value of lost equipment