Two out-of-state companies that collected rent even as their Tulsa properties fell into extreme disrepair have agreed to pay their former tenants.
A Tulsa County District court ordered Thursday that CiTYR Group Vista Shadow LLC and P Vista Shadow LLC pay $400,000 to the 229 tenants in the lawsuit. Each tenant represents one unit that had to be vacated in the former complex at 61st Street and Memorial Drive in southeast Tulsa.
CiTYR Group Vista Shadow LLC operates out of Delaware, and P Vista Shadow LLC operates out of New York.
"Routine maintenance was deferred, critical utility bills went unpaid, and tenants were forced to live in unsanitary and unsafe conditions for years," the lawsuit states. "All the while, Shadow Mountain kept collecting rent and holding itself out as a premium apartment complex in Tulsa."
City Councilor Lori Decter Wright said some of the tenants were paying market rent of $1,400 a month.
Shadow Mountain also collected Section 8 vouchers even though they didn't meet federal guidelines, according to the lawsuit.
Attorney for the tenants Jared Burden said the companies’ mismanagement came to light during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021.
"There were, I think, over 600 pipe bursts, which caused ruinous flooding damage," said Burden. "Eventually, the landlord came in and removed ceilings, walls and other necessary things from people’s apartments that they were living in, and basically made them uninhabitable."
Management evicted the tenants in July that year, the lawsuit says. The city forced the apartments to close due to multiple code violations.
"If not for a great philanthropic community here in Tulsa, that would have been catastrophic for these families," said Burden.
The plaintiffs allege breach of contract, duty of good faith and fair dealing, and unjust enrichment in violation of state tenant and consumer protection laws in the settlement agreement.
Public Radio Tulsa has reached out to the firm that represented the defendants in the lawsuit.
The two lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit will receive a combined $16,000, according to the agreement. Other tenants and their households will get about $1,691.63 each.
According to court records, attorneys estimated that from costs like hotel, storage and moving bills, the full settlement could have been more than $1.8 million. Burden believes from communication with the defendants that they can’t pay this amount.
"Is it what (the families) deserve? No, but I believe it’s the best deal that could be got. And we have a duty to make sure these people get something rather than nothing," Burden said.
"The last thing I want to do is litigate this case for six, seven years total — which is probably what it would take with appeals — and tell these people, 'I'm sorry, there's nothing there.'"
Public officials have brought up the Vista Shadow Mountain closure multiple times in reference to tenant protections. In August 2023, city councilors passed an ordinance to let city code enforcement make landlords consult architects. The municipal law also makes the city respond to housing emergencies within the hour and articulates Tulsa's rental occupancy standards in plain language.
Decter Wright, who led the push for the ordinance and whose district holds Vista Shadow Mountain, said she was relieved to hear about the settlement.
"(It's) a small step towards achieving justice for the residents, addressing their grievances, and acknowledging the suffering they endured three summers ago when the city had to shut down the complex due to negligent and unsafe living conditions," Decter Wright said in a written statement. "Our community must stay committed to improving living conditions for all residents including renters."
