A year later, former Latitude Five25 residents still waiting for settlement money
It's been a year since residents of the Latitude Five25 apartments on the Near East Side were forced out of their apartments, and four months since a judge cleared the way for a settlement that included $1.5 million for those tenants.
A judge may be approving that settlement soon, and the money distributed.
But tenants haven't seen any money yet.
"It's been horrible," said Angela Kanode, who had lived at Latitude Five25 for two years.
Kanode said lawyers working on behalf of tenants haven't updated them on what's going on. "Everything I've learned has been through the news," she said.
Since May, Kanode, 48, has lived at the SkyView Townhomes, a former public housing complex on the South Side that has been privatized. She said her rent is $992 a month, she's dealing with medical issues, and has applied for rental assistance.
"I'll be glad when it's all over," she said of the wait.
Another former Latitude Five25 tenant also wonders when his money is coming.
"We have a legal (right) to be compensated for the things we have been (through) in the past year," Martin Holloman wrote in an email to The Dispatch.
What's holding up Latitude settlement?
Melissa Benson, managing attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Columbus, which has been representing former tenants, said on Friday that her group filed a request to the Franklin County Municipal Court environmental judge to sign the settlement.
"The paperwork is there for them to approve. The judge is considering it," she said.
In August, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge in New Jersey dismissed a bankruptcy claim from the owners of Latitude Five 25, New Jersey-based Paxe Latitude, that cleared the way for a receiver to fix the property and the $1.5 million settlement for former tenants.
Franklin County Environmental Judge Stephanie Mingo also ordered more than $4.3 million in contempt fines in February against the owners.
'These are bad actors'
"My heart goes out to them over the past year," Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said of the displaced tenants. "It’s been a long process. It hasn't helped that the previous owners ran to bankruptcy court in New Jersey and delayed things."
Klein said that his office is investigating whether to pursue the owners for personal liability through a civil suit. "These are bad actors," he said.
The two 15-story towers at 525 Sawyer Blvd. were evacuated on Christmas Day 2022 over heating problems and burst pipes. That displaced 154 households. The buildings also had problems with nonworking elevators, asbestos and other code issues.
Lument Finance Trust, the financial institution that held the mortgage of the apartments, agreed to the $1.5 million settltment — the amount Paxe Latitude and attorneys for the tenants worked out.
Steve Tigges, Lument's attorney, said in August that insurance proceeds will be used to pay tenants.
Where have Latitude tenants landed?
After the Christmas Day evacuation, many tenants went to hotels and emergency shelters. In June, 16 people were still living in hotels. No one remains in a hotel now.
The receiver for the property is New Perspective Asset Management. Dana Milligan, who owns the company, said former tenants are not allowed in the towers to retrieve items from their apartments. The company has retrieved and given some items back to tenants, she said, but some furniture pieces and other large items remain because elevators in the towers are not working.
"We can't get heavy things down the steps," Milligan said. She said she hopes that once the property is sold the new owners will fix the elevators and tenants will be able to get those items then.
"I don’t think I’m going to make everyone happy because it’s such a disaster," Milligan said. "Compassionately, we wanted to make sure to get them something by Christmas."
mferench@dispatch.com
@MarkFerenchik
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former Latitude Five25 residents struggle while waiting for settlement
