Landlord mogul Spiros Zorbalas, who was banned by the Minneapolis City Council from renting property in the city for five years, filed a defiant affidavit Friday saying he had every right to co-own apartment buildings with Stephen Frenz.
The document was filed in a licensing action brought by the city regulatory division against Frenz, one of the city's biggest landlords.
The city is attempting to similarly ban Frenz from holding rental licenses after discovering he and Zorbalas were joint owners of some 60 city apartment complexes.
Zorbalas, who lives in Florida, insisted in the affidavit that he had complied with city ordinances. He was to testify by phone at a hearing in City Hall on Tuesday but was unable to do so because of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Frenz's attorney, Douglass Turner, told hearing officer Danielle Mercurio. Instead, Zorbalas submitted an affidavit.
"The Minneapolis City Council nor the City of Minneapolis' Department of Regulatory Services banned me from owning real estate in the city of Minneapolis," Zorbalas wrote.
"There are repeated references that there is a Zorbalas ban, but there is no such ban, council decision or directive from the city of Minneapolis. The allegations that there is a 'ban' is false and without basis in law or fact. Discussions of a ban, is the city of Minneapolis' way to create a narrative that is simply false."
Zorbalas has had a history of confronting city officials. After three of his rental licenses were revoked for repeated violations, the council revoked all of his licenses in 2011 for five years under a new ordinance designed to rid the city of troublesome landlords.
Zorbalas lost his appeals in state courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case. Frenz announced he had bought Zorbalas' properties in 2012, promising to repair them and bring them up to code, and was heralded by city officials.
