Former Forest Ridge residents take property owners to court
June 6, 2005 Media Release,
The Coalition for Forest Ridge Tenants
(Winston-Salem, NC) – Former tenants of Forest Ridge Apartments are suing its
owners and management company for monetary damages after the city was forced to
shut down the apartment complex notoriously known for unsafe and unfit
conditions.
“Despite the orders from the City of Winston-Salem to make repairs and a
failing inspection from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the
owners of Forest Ridge never made adequate repairs to the units and were
subsequently shut down by the City of Winston-Salem,” said Liza Baron, managing
attorney for Legal Aid of North Carolina-Winston-Salem Office and lead counsel for
the case. “It is appalling that the former residents now have to go to
court to get damages for living in such dilapidated conditions.”
The lawsuit is receiving support from
The Coalition for Forest Ridge Tenants,
a group of advocates dedicated to improving living conditions for the poor in
Winston-Salem.
“This lawsuit should send a clear message that scenarios like Forest Ridge
will not be tolerated in our community,” said Winston-Salem NAACP President
Stephen Hairston.
Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines has also expressed his concerns regarding the
situation.
The owner of the property, Goler Metropolitan Apartments, Limited Partnership,
and Goler’s management company, Apartment Investment Management Company
(AIMCO), are listed as defendants in the lawsuit. AIMCO also
manages numerous other HUD subsidized sites throughout the country.
“Numerous complaints had been made to AIMCO,” noted Baron. “One of the
plaintiffs had complained of a roach problem so severe that her children were
bitten by the roaches, and of kitchen cabinets that were detached from her
walls, making it difficult for her to use them for storage.
“Another resident had complained that her bathroom sink was not securely
attached to the wall and that as a result, she had to push the sink back against
the wall and hold it in order to use it. She also complained of a mold and
mildew problem in her unit from the beginning of her tenancy, which was
especially difficult for her since she has been diagnosed with asthma.”
The Forest Ridge community was built in the early 1970s and intended for use
as public housing for low-income residents. Since that time, its ownership
has changed and the conditions of the property had substantially deteriorated.
Residents had complained of the most flagrant conditions existing in the units.
In 1997, tenants began holding meetings, which led to their formation of the
Forest Ridge Tenants’ Association, about the unfit conditions in their units
that went unrepaired. They began publicly voicing their concerns to the
news and print media regarding the unfit conditions and the owners’ failure to
make adequate repairs to the units.
On February 25, 2004, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
conducted a Real Estate Assessment Center (“REAC”) inspection of Forest Ridge. The inspection consisted of a thorough inspection of the condition of 15
randomly selected units. The results of the inspection were a score of 38
out of 100. A passing score is 60. Forest Ridge had repeatedly
failed prior REAC inspections by HUD as well.
In March 2004, tenant complaints led to an inspection of all 150 units of
Forest Ridge, known as “Operation Impact,” by the Housing and Neighborhood
Services Department of the City of Winston-Salem. At least 127 units were
found to be unfit for human habitation and in violation of the City of
Winston-Salem’s minimum housing code. The plaintiffs’ units were among the
units the City of Winston-Salem determined to be unfit.
In response to the inspections, the City of Winston Salem issued orders to
Goler condemning the units as unfit for human habitation and demanding that the
needed repairs be made. Despite these orders and the failing REAC
inspection scores, Goler has failed to make any of the repairs.
Residents of the Forest Ridge community had also complained that the
community’s management failed to properly distribute to them utility
reimbursement checks, a task that management was obligated to fulfill under the
HUD regulations. In July 2004, approximately 280 old utility reimbursement
checks made out to Forest Ridge tenants in the amount of approximately $18,000
were found by an AIMCO employee in the on-site management office. These
checks, issued between 2001 and 2003, were found stashed away in drawers and
cabinets. They had never been distributed to the tenants, and had long
since expired.
Although AIMCO re-issued these expired utility reimbursement checks to
plaintiffs and other Forest Ridge tenants, the company refused to distribute
these checks unless plaintiffs and other tenants signed a document purporting to
release any and all claims they might have against AIMCO or Goler.
All Forest Ridge tenants have now been relocated to other subsidized housing
units in Winston-Salem. Fourteen of the former Forest Ridge tenants are
now suing for violation of the U.S. Housing Act, breach of the implied warranty
of habitability, unfair and deceptive trade practices, unfair debt collection,
the Rehabilitation Act, the Tenant Security Deposit Act, and other claims. They
are seeking unspecified monetary damages. The lawsuit was filed on June 6.
The Coalition for Forest Ridge Tenants is a group of advocates dedicated to
improving living conditions for the poor in Winston-Salem. Coalition
members include: CHANGE,
The Housing Authority of
Winston-Salem, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Legal Aid Society of
Northwest North Carolina,
Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods,
Winston-Salem Human Relations Department, and the Winston-Salem NAACP.
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