Residents Cite Squalid Living Conditions In Lawsuit Against Forrester Gardens Apartments

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A civil lawsuit has been filed in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court alleging that residents of a Tuscaloosa apartment complex are faced with squalid living conditions that the property owner refuses to address.

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Attorney Jason Neff and others filed the 64-page lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of seven residents of Forrester Gardens Apartments, which is located at 1350 James I. Harrison Jr. Parkway East. Other attorneys on the case for the plaintiffs include Robert Potter and Corbin Potter of Birmingham firm Mann & Potter, along with Tuscaloosa attorney Hunter Brown.

The complaint lays out seven different counts against those in charge of the apartment complex, with the defendants listed as the property owners — Forrester Apartments LLC — along with the property managers Dalcor Management and Kendrick Wilson.

The different counts in the complaint include: Negligence; Wanton and Reckless Conduct; Negligent, Reckless and/or Wanton Supervision in Training; Negligent, Reckless, and Wanton Maintenance; Failure to Warn; Breach of Implied Warranty of Habitability; and Nuisance.

The lawsuit alleges residents reported noticing mold, mildew, raw sewage, and feces in various places throughout the units they were leasing. What's more, residents claim raw sewage has been back flowing into their apartments, citing instances of feces leaking from the ceilings.

The convergence of these issues reportedly caused some of the residents to suffer health issues, resulting in initial complaints lodged with the property owner and managers, who have allegedly failed to address any of the concerns.

As a result, our news partners at WVUA 23 News first reported last week that some residents have been withholding paying rent until the longstanding problems are addressed. Also last week, Tuscaloosa police and fire officials went out to the property to check things out.

“We are basically here to work with other departments,” Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley told WVUA 23's Mary Barron. “If the health department or any other department of the city says this place has to be shut down, at that point we offer the security for that.”

Additionally, attorneys for the residents are asking that the property owners turn over any and all documents relating to the reported problems, including written incident reports, photos, videos and more from April 2020 through the present. Among the requests are any and all citations issued by the health department over the last five years.

According to business entity records filed with the Alabama Secretary of State's Office, Dalcor Management is a Huntsville-based firm first formed in 1979. Several other companies under the Dalcor name also have similar records on file with the state.

When looking for business records for Forrester Apartments, the only thing found with the Alabama Secretary of State's office were a pair of records for a Tuscaloosa-based Forrester Gardens, one of which is classified as "dissolved," while the other is listed as "cancelled."

Ryan Phillips is an award-winning journalist, editor and opinion columnist. He is also the founder and field editor of Tuscaloosa Patch. Email news tips to ryan.phillips@patch.com.