LR held liable for eviction damages

Judge says city’s 2015 order to leave apartments violated state constitution

The city of Little Rock violated the Arkansas Constitution when it shut down an apartment complex and ordered tenants to vacate the week of Christmas two years ago without giving the owner an avenue to appeal the decision, a judge has ruled.

The city is liable for damages, and a judge will decide at trial Monday how much Little Rock will owe Alexander Apartments, owned by Jason Bolden.

At issue is the failure of the city to set up an appeal process for Bolden to challenge the fire chief’s Dec. 21, 2015, order to cease operations of the apartment complex because of unspecified, life-threatening code violations. The order was also posted on the door of every apartment unit, telling occupants they must move out within seven days.

The city said the chief was operating under the state fire code, which gives him discretion to order people to immediately vacate a premise in the event of imminent danger.

But Pulaski County Circuit Judge Alice Gray said that while the fire code gives Fire Chief Gregory Summers that authority, that’s not what he did.

Summers’ Dec. 21, 2015, order was based on an inspection five days earlier, and he gave tenants a week to move

out after the order. That’s not immediate, Gray ruled late last month.

Summers’ order didn’t list what violations were alleged to be present and did not outline a process that Alexander Apartments could take to challenge the closure, Gray said.

The city told reporters at the time that the allegations included exposed wiring, raw sewage, broken smoke alarms, possible mold, a dead cat, and plumbing and mechanical problems.

Gray’s order quoted Article 2, Section 21 of the Arkansas Constitution that says, “No person shall be deprived … of his life, liberty or property” without due process.

She quoted case law that says a fundamental requirement of due process is the opportunity to be heard at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner, and that closing a facility by means of temporary injunction is “a taking of property.”

“To date, almost two years later, the city has not provided any process to Alexander Apartments regarding the deprivation of its property interest,” Gray’s order said.

The fire code allows cities to set up an appeal board, but Little Rock had not done so.

The city argued that Alexander Apartments’ filing of the lawsuit precluded the city from being able to afford any means of due process at that point. The court rejected that argument, ruling in favor of Bolden’s motion for summary judgment.

Not only did Gray rule that Little Rock violated due process, but she also said the city is liable for damages.

A trial is set for Monday to decide how much the city will have to pay.

The city attorney’s office did not reply to a request for comment Friday.

Michael Shannon of Quattlebaum, Grooms and Tull, PLLC — Bolden’s attorney — said he will let the case speak for itself and said he did not think his client had any comment to add.

In another matter related to the case, tenants of Alexander Apartments had brought claims against Bolden as intervenors. Attorneys representing them filed a motion Thursday to dismiss the claims for one of them.

There were more than 100 residents affected by the order to vacate. Gray ultimately halted the relocation and ruled that the city could not evict the tenants or take action against the complex until the lawsuit is resolved.

Arkansas Legal Services intervened on behalf of four tenants and Arkansas Community Organizations, a tenant advocacy group. Two of the tenants had already settled with the landlord out of court. Thursday’s motion to dismiss makes three tenant settlements.

Calls to the intervenors’ attorneys were not returned Friday.