COLUMBUS, Ohio — Residents who used to live in the Latitude Five25 apartment complex will start receiving settlement payments next month.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein announced on Monday that the insurance settlement payments will be disbursed to the former residents starting April 1.
The payments will come from the $1.5 million settlement city officials reached with the former owners of the complex in January.
Each claim will be a $10,067.11 lump sum payment administered through a tenant fund held by Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, according to Klein. The former tenants still have the option to file a lawsuit against Paxe Latitude — the former landlord at Latitude Five25 — to get back additional funds.
“While no amount of money will make up for what these tenants have been through, this settlement is a step toward making them whole. From the start, our priority has always been the tenants—making sure they could access critical resources in their time of need and ultimately delivering a relief that puts thousands of dollars back into their pockets,” Klein said in a statement.
Latitude Five25 residents were evacuated on Christmas in 2022 when some pipes burst due to the freezing temperatures, causing electrical damage. The city condemned the complex after the buildings were found to be without potable water, heat and a working fire suppression system. Additionally, only one of four elevators were working.
The owners of the apartment complex agreed to sell the property in January 2023.
Klein said the owners filed a bankruptcy claim to avoid paying a more than $4 million judgment to displaced tenants, the city and Franklin County. The judge dismissed the bankruptcy claim.
“With tenant checks now on their way, we’re focused on the future of the towers and exploring every option to hold those responsible for this crisis personally responsible for their role in subjecting tenants to deplorable living conditions and literally leaving them out in the cold on Christmas morning. We’re sending a message that landlords who operate like this will be run out of town and held accountable,” Klein said.