OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Several months after the city of Omaha swept through Yale Park, tenants filed a lawsuit seeking repayment of all rent, security deposits, damages for emotional distress, and other payments.
Late February, Yale Park owners filed this answer and counterclaim.
Inside the twenty-page counterclaim, landlord Kay Anderson and company AB Realty say tenants were responsible for dilapidated conditions under the Nebraska Landlord Tenant Act, their lease, and City Municipal Code.
Attorney Jason Bruno represents Anderson and AB Realty.
"The bottom line is we were required to get notice of anything that was wrong with the apartments and we never did," Bruno said.
The counterclaim also states that because tenants got reduced rent, they were responsible for some of the upkeep of their apartments.
3 News Now reached out to the four attorneys representing the 92 Yale Park tenants that filed the orginal complaint. In a joint statement, they said, "We believe counterclaims are without merit and will continue to pursue our client's claims vigorously."
"We set forth in specific detail by reference to the laws that were violated or the lease provisions that were violated," Bruno said.
It's been about five months since residents were displaced last September. A spokesperson for Omaha group Restoring Dignity says many tenants have found new homes.
Yale Park landlord Kay Anderson is facing 100 charges of City Violations.
"It doesn't give AB Realty any kind of sense of pride or satisfaction to be in this position that they had no choice but to file suit against tenants some of which they deemed to be akin to family," Bruno said.
Kay Anderson is expected to appear in court on Monday for a hearing on the criminal charges made by the city of Omaha.
