Six tenants of an apartment complex in New Orleans are suing the nonprofit company that owns the building, alleging that many units are simply not livable due to continuing problems such as mold, a rodent infestation and broken plumbing.
The tenants filed the lawsuit April 1 in Orleans Parish Civil District Court, naming as defendants the owner of the Willows complex at 7001 Lawrence Road, Global Ministries Foundation of Tennessee, and the Housing Authority of New Orleans.
“This company, (which) holds itself out as religious-based and nonprofit, has failed to address these conditions despite tenant complaints, citations of the city of New Orleans, outrage of City Council members and local news media’s repeated coverage,” the tenants’ attorneys, Jacob Young and Megan Kiefer, said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing this matter to the court.”
But Richard Hamlet, Global Ministries’ president and CEO, called the lawsuit frivolous and contrary to the facts.
“It is unfortunate to see aggressive plaintiff counsel seeking to leverage off our valued residents for their hopeful profit / inurement,” Hamlet said in a statement emailed to the Louisiana Record. “We have heard from many residents confirming the real motive behind this lawsuit … and who is really ‘taking advantage’ of our Willows residents, making promises, to advance their own agenda.”
The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, when New Orleans was temporarily shut down, and catastrophic Hurricane Ida storm damage put Global Ministries in a precarious position, he said, adding that many residents didn’t pay their rents during a government-imposed eviction moratorium.
“Staffing turnover and the lack of availability of maintenance workers, etc., during a 100-year pandemic with multiyear city shutdowns, obviously increased the challenges of maintaining the property,” Hamlet said.
The company is not a “slumlord” and has invested millions of dollars into the property even as resources to do so were reduced during the pandemic, he said. Global Ministries appreciates the tenants and will continue to work with them and improve the apartment complex, according to Hamlet.
“We transferred many residents to acceptable units after their individual units suffered damage from the storm,” he said. “Our management team has consistently worked hard to provide the best housing possible for our residents within challenging circumstances.”