Civil Justice Clinic, Maginnis Howard file suit for violations at Durham’s JFK Towers
Ohio-based Millennia faces a litany of allegations of unsafe and unsanitary living conditions at JFK Towers.
Clinical Professors of Law Charles Holton '73 and Jesse McCoy of the Civil Justice Clinic
Duke Law’s Civil Justice Clinic and the consumer class action division of Maginnis Howard filed a lawsuit on Friday against Millennia Housing Development, Ltd., and its subsidiaries alleging housing and consumer rights violations at JFK Towers, a Durham affordable housing complex.
The proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Millennia has violated numerous state housing and consumer laws at the 177-unit, income-based apartment development, designated for those 62 and over and those with disabilities in Durham County. Millennia, a Cleveland, Ohio-based real estate company, owns and manages the property and receives local, state, and federal subsidies, funding, and tax credits.
The complaint alleges that North Carolina’s Residential Rental Agreements Act requires landlords to maintain rental properties to a reasonable degree of habitability that is not present at JFK Towers. It references the experiences of current and former JFK Towers residents, who describe:
- Broken, out-of-service elevators;
- Frequent termination of residents’ water supply without notice or alternate water supply;
- Insect infestation and inadequate pest treatment;
- Unsafe and unsanitary apartments and common areas;
- Neglected waste management throughout the complex;
- General lack of property maintenance and response to tenant complaints; and
- Dangerous disregard for fire safety and building security.
JFK Towers has been the subject of numerous habitability complaints documented by local news outlets, and Millennia, which purchased the property for $16.5 million in July 2022, was slapped with 55 code violations last summer.
The parent company, which owns and operates more than 280 apartment developments in 26 states, according to its website, is the target of numerous lawsuits for problems at other properties it owns around the country, including a gas leak that killed two and an explosion that killed three.
Student-attorneys in the Duke Law Civil Justice Clinic, led by Clinical Professors of Law Charles Holton ’73, its director, and Jesse McCoy, its supervising attorney, work on cases relating to housing, unfair trade practices, consumer protection, employment, and more. Maginnis Howard is a North Carolina civil litigation firm specializing in consumer protection, class actions, and personal injury.