Former residents of
South Pointe Apartments take owners to court
January 23, 2008 Media Release
(Greensboro, NC) – Current and
former tenants of South Pointe Apartments today filed suit against
the owners and the company that managed the South Pointe Apartments
complex in Greensboro. The residents
contend that the apartments have been unsafe and unfit while they
lived there.
“It is appalling that these conditions could exist in this city,”
said Janet McAuley Blue, interim managing attorney for
Legal Aid of
North Carolina (LANC) in Greensboro. “We found sewage in the
common areas and backing up into the residents’ apartments on a
regular basis.
“We also discovered severe leaks from both the ceilings and
the plumbing that have caused mold and mildew, roaches, rodents,
bats, and many other problems that management has failed to address
in a timely manner despite our clients repeated complaints,” added
McAuley Blue.
The apartments are owned by Shannon Enterprises of the Southeast and
managed by Alliance Management.
Alliance
manages several other properties in
Greensboro.
According to Beth McKee-Huger, executive director of the
Greensboro Housing Coalition (GHC), the GHC has had concerns
about the property for more than a year. In
September 2006, GHC found Alliance Management to have the second
highest number of code violations in Greensboro, primarily due to
the problems found in South Pointe.
Willena Cannon, GHC’s healthy homes organizer,
met with numerous South Pointe tenants to investigate the
conditions.
“The smell of sewage was overwhelming,” said Cannon.
“I couldn’t stand to stay in some apartments for more than a
few minutes. A colony of bats lived in the
breezeway of one building. One resident and her
children had to have rabies shots after bats entered her apartment.
When she complained to management, they just told her to open
a window.”
In December 2006 the City of Greensboro ordered the 3230
building vacated and closed within 48 hours because of the sewage
backup. Management then made sufficient repairs to
prevent the building from being closed.
The Complaint seeks a refund of rent paid by tenants, as well
as punitive and other damages.
The Greensboro Housing Coalition (GHC) is a referral,
informational, and educational, nonprofit organization that seeks to
bring together housing and service providers to collaborate in
identifying and addressing unmet housing needs in the
Greensboro
community.
Legal
Aid of North Carolina (LANC) is a statewide, nonprofit law
firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to eligible,
low-income people in all 100 counties in North Carolina through 24, geographically located offices
in North Carolina.
LANC’s clients typically have an annual income of 125% or less of
the federally established poverty levels.
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ATTACHMENT:
Complaint filed January 23, 2008
CONTACTS:
Janet McAuley Blue (Interim Managing Attorney,
LANC-Greensboro Office), Greensboro, NC
336-272-0148
Beth McKee-Huger (Executive Director,
Greensboro Housing Coalition),
Greensboro, NC
336-691-9521
Ann- Marie Dooley (Staff Attorney, LANC-Greensboro Office), Greensboro, NC
336-272-0148
Dock Kornegay (Director, Public Relations & Development, Legal Aid
of NC), Raleigh, NC
919-856-2564
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Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that
provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in
order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers
to economic opportunity.