Former residents file lawsuits against Lydell apartment complex owners

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Residents of The Lydell apartment complex in Glendale, Wis. filed two lawsuits against owner Cypress Bayshore Residential after the North Shore Health Department (NSHD) issued an evacuation order when unsafe levels of trichloroethylene (TCE), a carcinogen, were found inside.

The first lawsuit, filed by Kravit, Hovel & Krawczyk S.C. on behalf of James Neubauer, alleges Cypress moved residents into Building 3 of the apartment complex after NSHD made an order to stop residents from moving in. The second lawsuit, filed by attorney Michael Cerjak on behalf of Selamani Ngaruko and Catherine Vlahoulis, alleges Cypress put its residents at risk after dismissing Department of Natural Resources (DNR) advice to clear the area before moving people in.

Cypress didn’t immediately provide a comment about the lawsuits.

The DNR recommended the Lydell’s owners to conduct post-construction testing of the building, according to the class-action complaint Cerjak filed. An environmental engineer working for Cypress also recommended testing during pre-construction assessment, the complaint added.

But Cypress didn’t finish testing until after residents were already moved inside of the building, a chain of emails between the owners and NSHD revealed.

NSHD ordered evacuation of six units in late June after 10 times the acceptable levels of TCE were found, said Becky Rowland, health officer for NSHD. Residents from the six units were relocated by a property management firm called Lincoln Residential, which terminated its contract with Cypress shortly after evacuation.

TCE is associated with several types of cancers in humans, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A recent study says there’s evidence linking TCE, a degreaser common in soil and groundwater, to Parkinson’s Disease.

Testing done by an environmental engineer in April found high levels of the chemical in common spaces, stairs and in an elevator inside Building 3.

Neubauer’s complaint also lists Lincoln Eastern Management Corporation and John Ausburn, a Lydell project lead, as defendants.

In an email, Ausburn told engineering staff to soften the language in a government letter to residents, commenting it was “far too overreactive and one-sided.”

“I don’t think we will be willing to agree with the attached one. It is far too overreactive and one-sided. Send me your version, one that doesn’t make it sound like the tenants have had a month-long exposure to the plague,” Ausburn’s email said.

According to the complaint, both Lincoln and Cypress asked NSHD to coordinate with them before communicating with residents. The department responded and said it didn’t take directives from either group.

Cypress had an occupancy permit from the city of Glendale and moved people in before DNR could finish indoor testing, Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy said. “It is my opinion that they should have waited until they had clearance from the DNR,” he added.

The city doesn’t review air quality when granting occupancy permits, Kennedy said. He added that most buildings in Glendale rarely work with the DNR.

Catherine Vlahoulis, one of the plaintiffs and former resident of the Lydell, said she believed the law should be changed to prevent similar situations from happening again. “This should never have happened in the first place,” she added.

Michael Cerjak is also representing a resident who lived in the Community Within the Corridor (CWC) in Milwaukee. CWC in March had to evacuate a building when high levels of TCE were found.