MOUNT VERNON – Home builder and remodeler Kevin Link of Granite City challenged his conviction on a city ordinance without a lawyer and his arguments stood up to those of two lawyers and the reasoning of two judges.
Fifth District Appellate Court judges reversed judgment against him on July 14, finding the city didn’t prove he needed a license to rent properties to tenants.
Madison County Associate Judge Philip Alfeld entered judgment for the city in 2020, and Associate Judge Ryan Jumper denied reconsideration last year.
Attorneys Erin Phillips and Bradley Young of Wood River represented Granite City.
The city filed four ordinance violations against Link in 2019, claiming he conducted residential rental business without a license.
The ordinances related to properties at 2111 Alexander, 2542 East 24th Street, 2812 Forest Avenue, and 2820 Lincoln Avenue.
Link responded that he leased properties on a basis of renting to own.
He claimed police harassed him because he opposed an ordinance requiring him to evict tenants if police arrested them or their guests.
He filed a motion stating, “After 30 years of operating my business in compliance with Granite City ordinance I have refused to purchase my 2019 business license.”
He moved for jury trial on the property at 2111 Alexander, with bench trials to follow on the other three properties.
Alfeld granted jury trial and set it for January 2020.
A week before trial, Granite City moved for summary judgment on the grounds that Link admitted he operated without a license.
Alfeld canceled trial, held a hearing, and gave Link 30 days to respond.
Link responded that he didn’t obtain a license because the city required him to evict tenants in violation of the constitution.
Alfeld heard argument and granted judgment on all four properties.
He found Link’s position on the rights of tenants wasn’t a legal defense to his failure to obtain a license.
He set sentencing on May 5, 2020.
On May 4, Link moved for reconsideration of judgment on 2542 East 24th Street.
Alfeld didn’t resolve the motion, and Chief Judge William Mudge assigned Jumper.
Jumper denied reconsideration last September, finding that Alfeld’s reasoning landed firmly within his discretion.
Jumper fined Link $250 for each violation and assessed a $100 fee for each violation, for a total of $1,400.
On appeal, Link’s statement that he refused to obtain a license no longer worked against him.
Justice Barry Vaughan found no dispute that Link didn’t have a license, leaving only the question of whether he was a landlord or a lessor.
He found that even if Granite City’s summary of Link’s statement was valid, nothing in it addressed any of the properties at issue.
He found nothing in the statement admitted that he was required to have a license for 2111 Alexander, the property on which the city moved for summary judgment.
He found nothing in the statement admitted that he was required to have a license for the other three properties.
“Further, Granite City submitted no evidence showing that defendant was required to have the requisite license for any of the four properties,” he wrote.
“Instead, it relied on defendant’s prior licensure and his refusal to obtain the licenses in 2019.”
“However, Granite City failed to present any evidence that defendant was required to obtain the licenses for any of the properties prior to 2019.”
“One can only speculate why Granite City did not attach copies of the leases to its complaints when its claims were founded in part on said leases.”
He found reasonable persons might draw different inferences about Link’s past practice of obtaining licenses.
He found Link was perhaps unaware that the properties didn’t require a license or circumstances changed at a particular location.