A proposed class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of tenants at the Forest Place Apartments at 1421 N. University Ave. alleges that a May 16 fire that destroyed 34 apartments and displaced 150 people began the same way as two earlier fires at the complex and could have been prevented.
The lawsuit alleges that the corporation that owns the complex was negligent in not correcting the situation after the first and each subsequent fire. It also complains that the corporation requires tenants to purchase renter’s insurance through the corporation, falsely telling them at the time that it will cover personal property losses that aren’t actually covered. The suit provided no additional details about this allegation.
The defendant, Maxus Properties Inc. of Missouri, transferred the case Monday to federal court from Pulaski County Circuit Court, where it was filed May 24. In Maxus’ answer, which was attached, attorneys for the Missouri corporation denied that it owns the complex. A woman who answered the phone at the complex Thursday said it is owned by Forest Place TIC 1, LLC.
The suit alleges that the May 16 fire, as well as two earlier fires for which dates were not given, began in the apartment’s garbage collection system, “whereby a central trash chute leads down to a dumpster in the parking area. The fire traveled up through the trash chute into the attic of the apartment building, causing destruction of at least 34 individual apartments.”
It says that on numerous occasions, “the trash chute would be filled completely from the dumpster below, all the way to the depository door. This created multiple fire hazards.”
In addition to complaining that the complex failed to fix the faulty design of the trash chute after each of three fires, the suit alleges that the complex also failed to provide adequate security camera coverage and fire sprinklers.
Capt. Randy Hickmon of the Little Rock Fire Department said Thursday that the department hasn’t yet determined a cause of the May 16 fire - the only one under investigation. He said the investigation is taking a long time because it involves interviewing several hundred people and having dozens of items from the scene analyzed at the state Crime Laboratory.
Hickmon noted that the department has responded to two other fires at the complex since the May 16 fire. One on June 4 started in an elevator shaft in a three-story building, and is not believed to be related to any of the others, Hickmon said. He noted that firefighters extinguished a “small trash fire” at the complex Saturday night.
The fire captain said that apartment complex fires involving waste bins and trash chutes where incinerators are present have occurred “around the city for a long time,” and, “it has always been a problem.”
The lawsuit, now assigned to U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker, alleges that the complex owners “continuously” failed to provide safe living conditions, including adequate smoke detectors and fire alarms, and hasn’t made changes brought to light by the three fires mentioned in the suit, breaching its duties to the tenants.
The suit names former tenant Lacey Moore as the proposed lead defendant to represent a class comprised of “all residents of Forest Place as of May 16, 2013, who sustained damages” from the fire on that date.
It estimates that the size of the class will be “in the hundreds,” large enough that the plaintiff’s attorney Benjamin A. Kent said it would make more sense to pursue the case as a class action rather than requiring each tenant to file an individual lawsuit.
The suit seeks an as-yet-undetermined amount of compensatory damages, as well as costs, expenses and attorney’s fees.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 06/28/2013