Victory for Denver Apartment Renters

Robinson & Henry’s knowledgeable attorneys give their professional insight in “From Our Perspective” where we take a closer look at successful outcomes achieved by our attorneys. 

In this episode, Litigation Partner Christopher "Kit" Davlin discusses a case involving a luxury apartment complex in downtown Denver. Luxury living took an unexpected turn for tenants at a high-end apartment complex. Residents experienced flooding, water damage, and breach of their lease agreements. Kit represented multiple tenants in this case, helping them secure compensation for their hardships.

Past results afford no guarantee of future results; each matter is different and must be judged on its own merits. Facts are those of an actual Robinson & Henry litigation case. 

Robinson & Henry represented tenants in a luxury apartment building who faced eviction and substandard living conditions. The property where the tenants lived experienced significant water damage and the closure of amenities, including pools and gyms, that were promised in their lease agreements. In addition, many reported that management was unresponsive to their complaints and failed to uphold their contractual obligations.

The lease agreements clearly outlined the landlord’s responsibilities, which were not met. Tenants expected these terms to be honored, and when they were not, tenants sought legal action.

Davlin pursued claims for breach of contract, violations of Colorado tenant rights, and fraud under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. The landlord potentially engaged in deceptive or unfair practices that violated the CCPA.

The legal team consolidated the cases of multiple tenants into one large lawsuit. They sought damages to compensate the tenants for the hardships they endured. The law provides protections for renters, and in this case, those protections were not being upheld.

The parties reached a settlement before the case went to trial. While the final terms of the settlement are confidential, Davlin says the tenants were happy with the agreement.  

After enduring these issues for an extended period of time, they were relieved to move forward with their lives. This case underscores the importance of tenants understanding their rights and taking action when landlords fail to meet their legal obligations.

For tenants facing similar issues, Davlin offers a simple but important piece of advice: review your lease agreement. 

Lease agreements are often lengthy and complex. If problems happen, tenants should examine the terms that apply to their situation. If uncertainty remains or if landlords fail to meet their obligations, seeking legal help is the next step. An experienced attorney can assess your situation and help you determine the best course of action. 

Read this video’s full transcript:

Question: Kit, thanks for joining me. Tell me more about your clients and the problems they were facing. 

Kit: We’ve represented many clients both on the landlord and tenant side of several of these sorts of issues. In this particular case, we represented two sets of clients who were being evicted from a luxury apartment unit. They fought those, we fought those at trial and we were successful on behalf of both sets of tenants. After that, other tenants came forward and let us know that they were having some of these same sorts of issues.

We brought suit on behalf of many tenants, and were consolidated all into one large case. 

Question: In addition to the flooding, tell me more about some of the issues that the tenants were facing? 

Kit: The tenants faced a number of issues beyond just water intrusion, the flooding. They also had closure of amenities, pools, gyms, and elevators.  They also were facing a significant pushback from the management company and the ownership of the building, which looked like a breach of the lease contract to us.

Question: When the time came and the management wanted to make some of those repairs, what happened to the residents then? 

Kit: The landlords, under the lease agreement, had certain obligations that they had agreed to. Both parties had agreed to a contract and that contract was enforceable. In this case, the landlord should have done certain things that they were refusing to do and the tenants felt that they had been wronged. We agreed with them, and so we brought suit.

Question: In this lawsuit, what were the damages you were seeking? 

Kit: We were seeking damages for breach of contract, that is the lease agreement. Also, a violation of certain statutory rights that all tenants have under Colorado law, as well as certain fraud and CCPA that’s the Colorado Consumer Protection Act claims.

Question: Ultimately, what was the outcome of this case? 

Kit: There was a settlement, so we can't speak of the terms of that settlement. But the tenants that we represented were very happy with the outcome. 

Question: And after they were dealing with this issue for so many years, what's been the reaction of your clients? 

Kit: They're very happy. They get to move on and then they have the ability to move to new places and move on with their lives.

Question: What advice do you have for anyone who is renting and in a similar situation? 

Kit: My advice is to always look at your lease agreement first. Now, some of those lease agreements can be many pages in length. And in these particular cases, they exceeded 50 pages, that's a pretty dense contract. But my team at Robinson & Henry can take a look at that and help you determine if there's been a violation of the lease agreement or a violation of statutory laws that surround what the landlord tenant situation should be.