Eviction thwarted.

The City of Santa Monica will get a second chance to prove to the 2nd District Court of Appeal that a section of its Tenant Harassment Ordinance does not violate the state constitution.

The same three-judge panel that ruled in favor of Action Apartment Association Inc., a group of about 1,000 Santa Monica landlords that brought the suit, granted a re-hearing of the case late last month.

"We believe this is a very important ordinance for our residents and believe the court was mistaken in its original holding that the ordinance was invalid," said Adam Radinsky, a Santa Monica deputy city attorney.

The original appellate ruling, published in May, leaves intact 11 of the prohibited acts under the city's ordinance, including failing to make repairs and the physical and verbal abuse of tenants. But one subsection, which says a landlord cannot issue an eviction notice "based upon facts which the landlord has no reasonable cause to believe to be true," violates the landlord's civil right to file an eviction, the ruling stated.

"It allows them to intimidate landlords," said Rosario Perry, the Santa Monica lawyer representing Action Apartment Association. "Without that right to intimidate, the city is at a loss to control these owners."

It's unclear whether the appellate panel will base its new decision on additional oral arguments or on legal briefs already filed by both sides.

Staff reporter Amanda Bronstad can be reached at [phone], ext. 225, or at [e-mail].