TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that a woman must pay over $21,000 in late fees after missing several months of rent payments in 2020.
Sherri Foster, who rented a house in Prairie Village for $1,900 per month starting in 2018, was taken to court by landlord John Schutt after she failed to pay rent for two separate three-month periods. Their lease included a clause charging $20 per day in late fees for overdue rent.
While Foster and Schutt initially agreed to bring her current in June 2020, she again fell behind, eventually landing both parties in a prolonged legal battle. The case, which should have gone to trial within two weeks, took nearly two and a half years—from September 2020 to March 2023—to reach trial in Johnson County District Court.
The district court awarded Schutt:
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$5,700 in unpaid rent
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$21,240 in late fees (calculated over 1,062 days)
It also ruled that Schutt owed Foster $545 for unpaid work she did on his rental properties.
Foster’s attorney, Eric Kraft, argued the late fees were “unconscionable”, claiming they were unfairly excessive. The Kansas Court of Appeals agreed, reducing the late fees to $1,700, covering only the delay between Foster’s missed payments and the trial start date.
However, Schutt appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court, which unanimously reversed the appeals court’s ruling. The justices said Foster had not properly raised the unconscionability argument earlier in the case, so the appeals court should not have considered it.
Despite raising concerns about fairness, the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the original lease terms stood, requiring Foster to pay the full late fees.
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Katie is a senior who has been on staff for three years. Her favorite type of stories to write is reviews and features. Katie’s favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry.
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