This is wrong on so many levels. He paid his rent on time, there was absolutely no reason for them to come in and throw all his and his daughter's things away. Plus they had the audacity to claim he had counterfeit money when the money they found was play money found in his 9 year old daughter's room. I hope he was able to get back on his feet, since this happened about a year ago.
The lawyer is right. It doesn't matter if the lease owner is there or not. The only thing the complex got right is that he was supposed to have his name on the lease to be there full time. But it doesn't excuse the first infraction of throwing his stuff out. Since much of his stuff was either damaged or pretty much free for the taking, they don't need to "retrieve" his items back. They need to sign him a fat check to replace everything. I hope this lawyer tore the complex a new one.