by Following a fire that rendered the Fort Worth apartment complex unusable, dozens of former residents of The Cooper pushed forward Wednesday in an attempt to reunite with their possessions.
In order to prevent the owners and management of The Cooper from demolishing or discarding the belongings from their previous apartments, 59 residents are seeking a temporary injunction. They claimed that due to widespread mistrust of the firms, legislative reassurance is required.
Ty Stimpson, a lawyer for the renters, stated, “We’re just saying that they can’t unilaterally decide to destroy everyone’s personal property.”
Judge Christopher Taylor of Tarrant County’s 48th District Court stated Wednesday afternoon that he plans to render a verdict by Monday that will appease all parties following two days of arguments and testimony.
Taylor stated that in order to give tenants peace of mind that their property would not be needlessly destroyed and that Cooper construction personnel would not be slowed down, he intends to carefully design a temporary injunction.
An injunction, according to Roger Diseker, an attorney for the Cooper’s owners and property management, would only make things more difficult because management is already taking all necessary steps, such as installing a 6-foot-tall chain link fence around the property’s perimeter and offering round-the-clock security.
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No one from The Cooper intends to damage residents’ stuff without a reason, according to Diseker.
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However, he stated that preventing construction workers from disposing of renters’ belongings would significantly impede their ability to remove debris from the structure and evaluate its structural soundness. “Many personal items are lost in the rubble and must be removed because some apartment units were destroyed in the fire,” he continued.
According to Diseker, “I argue against an injunction that is going to cause more problems than it will solve.”
The request is a component of the tenants’ lawsuit against the owners of The Cooper, the current and prior property management, and the electricians they claim caused the complex’s June 23 six-alarm fire. The lawsuit, which is seeking $1 million in damages, claims that the fire that forced more than 800 residents to relocate was caused by the carelessness and recklessness of an untrained electrician.
The attorneys for the tenants stated during the court on Wednesday that they were looking for legal confirmation that The Cooper offers appropriate security on the property and that their clients’ personal stuff wouldn’t be destroyed without consent. They requested that, if it is technically safe to do so, The Cooper let tenants to examine their belongings before demolishing the apartment buildings.
After The Cooper’s property management informed renters on July 31 that Building 1, the scene of the fire, was unsuitable for occupants to access owing to mold and other health risks, the request for an injunction was submitted on August 6.
The Cooper informed several renters that their personal items will be destroyed and that their apartments were completely lost. The other renters were informed that the assessment of their units was still ongoing.
Since then, the second building on the property has been judged secure enough for occupants to recover their possessions, and the endeavor is still going strong.
Displaced residents have requested responsibility and openness from The Cooper’s administration, which they say has been utterly silent, in the seven weeks after the fire.
Cecilia Lenzen works for the Fort Worth Report as a government accountability reporter. Reach her at fortworthreport.org/cecilia.lenzen.
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