Residents of Heritage House preparing to file lawsuit for displacement

ST. LOUIS – A class action lawsuit was filed Monday against the owner of Heritage House Apartments after residents were displaced following a pipe burst last month.

A conference was held at the Hilton St. Louis Airport Hotel, where many residents have been living. Residents are allegedly supposed to move out of the hotel by Tuesday.

While some tenants were able to find new homes through housing fairs, others are still searching. Residents, along with the Universal African People’s Organization, announced that they would be filing a class action lawsuit against the owner of Heritage House.

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“Many of the negative and deteriorating conditions of the building before the water pipes burst this year in January were because they had the same kind of issue in December of 2022, as well as ongoing maintenance problems,” Zaki Baruti, president of UAPO, said. “And that’s how, as an organization, we got involved; (it’s) very heartbreaking.”

According to Vickie Fontaine, a former resident, tenants are prohibited from going back into the building to collect their personal belongings.

“My friend lives on the seventh floor of the Heritage House. I have personally taken her down two or three times, each of those time she was only allowed 15 minutes to go in her unit,” Laverne Cameron said. “I have witnessed both the mental and emotional stress this has caused her relatives, even I have undergone some of (it)… just unbelievable.”

The Heritage House Apartment Complex is preparing to release a statement surrounding the situation.

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