COLUMBUS – Families who found themselves suddenly without permanent homes on Christmas Day in 2022 when their high-rise apartment building on the East Side was shuttered due to unsafe living conditions will receive more than $10,000 each under a settlement announced Monday.
The residents of Latitude 525 were forced to abandon their homes when poorly maintained water lines broke, causing flooding, and other hazards were discovered and the city deemed the structure uninhabitable.
“The settlement serves not only as compensation for past grievances but also as a stern warning against substandard housing practices in the future,” State Rep. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus) said.
The agreement retains the residents’ right to further legal actions against the property’s owners, New Jersey-based Paxe Latitude, for their failure to maintain safe living conditions, Jarrells said.