INDIANAPOLIS — Attorney General Todd Rokita and his Homeowner Protection Unit team filed a civil lawsuit against the owners and property managers of Willow Brook Apartments on the north side of Indianapolis.
The lawsuit alleges those responsible habitually failed to respond to residents’ maintenance calls, allowed conditions to become uninhabitable, failed to provide executed lease agreements and improperly billed tenants.
The complex, consisting of 48 townhomes, is located at 2121 E. 52nd St., near North Keystone Avenue.
Rokita accused the apartment's management of failing to satisfy their legal obligations to the state and its residents by supporting and engaging in the unlicensed practice of real estate, failing to repair major systems in a reasonable amount of time, failing to provide reasonable modifications for a tenant with disabilities, mismanaging tenant billing and legal documentation, and failing to meaningfully respond to other issues raised by tenants.
"In addition to the negative emotional impact these failures caused to the tenants, these failures caused tenants actual monetary harm," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit claims allegations of "uninhabitable conditions and unresponsive property management personnel" were reiterated in civil actions put forth by the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County. Previous violations reportedly include issues with the building's plumbing, electrical wiring, foundation, moisture control and utility shutoffs.
Defendants in the case are Willow Brook Gardens LLC, the property owner, and Beztak Properties, a Michigan-based property management company, who the lawsuit alleged are not registered to do business in Indiana and are also operating without a required real estate broker company license.
The mortgage assignee, U.S. Bank N.A. is also named as a defendant.
Marion County’s Health and Hospital Environmental Court ordered judgments against Willow Brook Gardens LLC on Jan. 24, 2023, and May 9, 2023, according to the lawsuit.
"Neither Willow Brook Gardens LLC nor Beztak Properties have responded substantively to authorities’ efforts to communicate with them about issues at the apartment complex. Residents also report that management is absent and unresponsive to requests for assistance," the office of the Attorney General said in a statement.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants’ conduct violates Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act and the Home Loan Practices Act.
