Iraq Vet Sues Vic Williams for Unreturned Rental Deposit

When Tasha Downum returned from Iraq in June, 2008, she took her five year old son, her mother and her grandmother on a two week vacation to Newport Beach, California. Her son had never seen the ocean, and after a year in Iraq's heat and sand, she was looking forward to being around all that water.

She found a beach house online that belongs to Vic Williams, who was recently elected to the Arizona State House (Republican, LD-26). She paid him a $400 deposit and the rent in advance, took her family to Newport and had a wonderful time. But when the vacation was over, she couldn't get Williams to return her deposit.

After repeated unsuccessful attempts to have Williams return the money, she took him to small claims court.  Williams didn’t show up. The judge awarded Downum $1845.20. She still has not received the money.

The first I heard of this situation was when Tasha’s mother, Cathy, wrote a comment on a story I posted about Williams’ temper tantrum at an educational forum during the campaign, where he didn’t respond to numerous invitations to attend the forum, then showed up and bullied his way onto the stage. Cathy and I emailed back and forth about the unreturned deposit. She sent me a number of documents, including the court papers. Then I talked with Tasha over the phone and learned more details from her.

Here is the story, based on my email conversations with Cathy and the documents she sent to me, along with my phone conversation with Tasha.

Tasha was stationed in Iraq for a year as part of the motor pool unit of the 325th Combat Support Hospital. Toward the end of her tour, she decided she wanted to take a four-generation vacation with her son Javier, her mother and her grandmother. They talked about going on a cruise but decided a trip to the beach would be more fun. Since Tasha and her family live in Missouri, the beach would be a real treat for everyone. It would be her son's first time at the ocean, she has relatives in southern California, and she couldn't imagine a better break from her long, hot tour in Iraq than a few weeks at the Pacific Coast.

Tasha found what looked like the perfect place in Newport Beach advertised on vrbo.com, a beach house owned by Vic Williams — close to the bay and a short walk to the Newport Beach Fun Zone. A cousin who lives in Southern California looked it over and gave the place her OK. The cousin signed the rental contract and wrote a check for half the rent, including a $400 security deposit. Tasha reimbursed her cousin and paid Williams the remainder.

Tasha's return home from Iraq in June was covered by her local newspaper,including a heartwarming photo of her playing with Javier at the airport. In early July, the family headed to Newport Beach and stayed in the rented beach house for two weeks. They had a wonderful time.

On the last day of her stay, Tasha emailed Willams: "Wanted to thank you for letting us rent this place for 2 weeks!! It's beautiful, and we enjoyed our time!! Just wanted to give you my information so the deposit can be returned to me!!!" She included her mailing address.

Willams replied a few days later that he couldn't return the deposit to her. It had to go to her cousin, who signed the contract. He promised to cut the check and put it in the mail in the next two days.

That was July 30, and it was the last time Tasha heard from Williams. Her cousin emailed Williams repeatedly after that, asking him to send the check, but she didn't receive it.

After waiting a month, Tasha took the case to small claims court in Laguna Hills, CA. On October 3, Williams was personally served with a summons. The court date was set for November 3.

Tasha flew to California for the November 3 court date and appeared along with her cousin. Williams did not show up. The judge awarded her $1845.20 — three times the unreturned $400 deposit, plus $500 for Tasha's travel and lodging and $145.20 for miscellaneous expenses.

The notice of the court's decision was mailed to Williams November 5. According to both Tasha and her mother, he has not paid the money or contacted them.

I talked with Williams briefly over the phone. He acknowledged the lawsuit and said he and Tasha are in the midst of working it out. He told me he didn't want to comment further on the case.

During my phone conversation with Tasha and email correspondence with her mother, I didn't get the impression they think the lawsuit is being worked out. They told me Williams had not been in contact with them since the court date.

Tasha simply wants to get the money Williams owes her, which is now almost five times what it would have been if he had returned the deposit promptly. Williams states in his resume that he is involved in "Acquisition, maintenance, renovation and management of investment properties." I'm certain he knows about his responsibility to return a rental deposit, and I'm also certain he knows the meaning of a court ruling.

What truly surprises me about this is that Williams is a newly elected state legislator. He must understand that one of the reasons people voted for him was they assumed he is a man of good character and judgement. This incident certainly throws those qualities into question. The fact that Tasha Downum is both an Iraq veteran and a single mother makes his refusal to return her deposit seem especially crass.

Tasha is one of those people who puts a saying at the bottom of her emails. Hers reads, "Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't." I imagine she's praying for Vic Williams, and also hoping that he sends the money he owes her.