2 Mission district nonprofits embroiled in legal fight 

Two San Francisco nonprofits are embroiled in a legal battle with a trial tentatively set for September. The outcome could affect housing for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Dolores Street Community Services, or DSCS, now Mission Action, filed suit April 2, 2024 against the Marty's Place Affordable Housing Corporation, or MPAH. A trial date of September 8 has been set for the courtroom of San Francisco Superior Court Judge Christine Van Aken.

Mission Action accuses Marty’s Place of breach of contract in a rental agreement at 1165 Treat Avenue in its civil complaint.

“A present and actual controversy exists between DSCS and MPAH regarding the rights, duties, and obligations of DSCS and MPAH in the lease,” the complaint states. “DSCS contends it is the lessor under the Lease and MPAH is the lessee. DSCS also contends that failure to pay rents due under the lease constitutes default, allowing for the removal of MPAH as manager of the property. As a result, an actual and judiciable controversy exists between DSCS and MPAH concerning the rights, duties, and obligations arising out of the lease regarding the continued operations of the property.”

As the Bay Area Reporter reported in December, Marty's Place was founded in the 1990s by the Reverend Richard Purcell, a Roman Catholic Franciscan friar who intended it as a safe haven for people living with AIDS. 

It was named for his late brother, Marty, who died of AIDS. In 2011, it came under the aegis of what was then known as Dolores Street Community Services. 

“What this is is an attempt to take the building by dislodging Marty’s Place,” Michael Rouppet, a gay man who is president of the MPAH board of directors, told the B.A.R. “We have been trying to hold discussions but they are not responding.”

MPAH had originally been leasing the building from the San Francisco Community Land Trust. In 2021, the lessor was changed to Martys Place, LLC, a subsidiary of DSCS/Mission Action. According to Rouppet, the idea was for DSCS/Mission Action to help MPAH become independent. (That name does not have an apostrophe.) 

According to the defendant’s attorney Douglas Robbins, this means that in the most technical sense, “the party who sued us is not technically the landlord.” However, the chief officer of Martys Place, LLC is Laura Valdez, the executive director of DSCS/Mission Action.

Rouppet lives at the site with one other person. They had been holding off on accepting new residents due to the legal situation, but recently reversed course. 

Paul Aguilar, a longtime gay AIDS activist, is the other person living at the site. He said two potential candidates for the space, which can house six people, were interviewed when he returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. for AIDSWatch 2025.

Aguilar stated May 20 they are still “interviewing applicants.”

Valdez, on the other hand, alleges that in 2021 and 2022, MPAH didn’t pay timely rent or late fees.

“We have pretty much a vacant house at Marty’s Place operating as a private residence,” Valdez said in a phone call with the B.A.R. “This is very questionable behavior on their part.”

Rouppet and Aguilar allege that though they’ve been trying to resolve any issues outside of court – they claim the rent allegations are flatly false – this is actually a war of legal attrition on DSCS/Mission Action’s part in an attempt to evict them. 

“My theory is by doing this lawsuit – the contract ends in 2030 – they can sell the building,” Aguilar said. 

As the B.A.R. recently reported , Aguilar is seeking the advice of an attorney after the Social Security Administration alleges it overpaid him by over $200,000. 

Kevin Ortiz, who is on the board of MPAH, has called for an investigation of DSCS/Mission Action, which he accuses of potentially wanting to use the house to access federal funds. Mission Action currently provides housing on the site of the former Mission Inn in the Outer Mission neighborhood for transitional-aged youth.

“It was supposed to be Dolores Street [Community Services] helping Marty’s Place so they could run the organization on their own capacity,” Ortiz said.

Valdez disagreed. 

“No, we really do not have any intent; we do not receive any federal funding for any of our existing programs so I’m not sure where, again, this fabrication of this allegation is coming from,” Valdez said. “This is absolutely not an eviction lawsuit. … The purpose of this lawsuit is to terminate the lease agreement for Marty’s Place Affordable Housing Corporation to cease being the property manager. … They’ve just really not upheld any of the obligations of a property manager, so the lawsuit is to terminate that agreement.”

Valdez said if DSCS/Mission Action is successful, “we’d be able to lease out the units, and play the same role we’ve been playing as a property manager for many decades at many properties.”

Asked to respond to Valdez’s statements, Robbins replied, “No. 1, they [DSCS/Mission Action] don’t own the property, so what Dolores Street happens to say is interesting, but not relevant.”

“On the substance, we have been making payments,” he continued. “We have been renting out the property, and for a short time discontinued renting the rooms because of this lawsuit. We felt it irresponsible to bring in new tenants. In the last few months, we have begun the process and, right now, are trying to get new tenants, but it’s hard: people don’t want to live in a home where they’ll get evicted.”

Robbins said he expects the suit to settle. Asked about the prospects of a September trial, he said, “If the parties have not resolved, yeah, absolutely; but I have a decent expectation the parties will settle this.”

A spokesperson for Mission Action attorney Annalisa Zulueta requested questions in advance of an interview. The B.A.R. responded that it does not provide questions but stated that the topic would be about legal strategy and to respond to statements made by MPAH.

The spokesperson was told about the deadline for the story and replied, “I hope to let you know soon what they want to do.” 

The paper received no response.