Apartment Review for Sheridan Edgewater Apartments - Chicago, IL

Class action lawsuit claims landlords violated Chicago landlord-tenant ordinance... From: -Anonymous- Date posted: 3/24/2007 Years at this apartment: 2002 - 2004 2 responses

Case Number: 2006CH11542 Filed: June 09, 2006 Matt Sheynes, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated vs. The Kopley Group V, L.P., a limited partnership, and The Kopley Group, Inc., a corporation

Amount: $50,000.00 Type Of Case: Class Action Plaintiff Atty: Mark A. Silverman, 913 N. Main, Suite 103, Rockford, IL 61103 (608) 239-8421 (630) 839-0380 (fax) Defendant Atty: Judge: Jurisdiction: IL Cook County Circuit Court, Chancery Division

Summary: The Defendants, who rented an apartment to the named Plaintiff and other tenants, are accused of violating a number of provisions of the Chicago landlord-tenant ordinance, including provisions concerning the payment of interest on tenant security deposits. Plaintiff Matt Sheynes, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, sues The Kopley Group V, L.P., a limited partnership, and The Kopley Group, Inc., a corporation. The Plaintiff leased an apartment from the Defendants located at #810, 5200 N. Sheridan Road in Chicago, Illinois between February 1, 2002 and January 31, 2003. The Complaint alleges that The Kopley Group V. Limited Partnership was an owner of a beneficial interest in the premises, and that the Defendant The Kopley Group, Inc. was the manager of the premises.

The building allegedly contains dozens of individual apartment units rented by tenants who gave security deposits for their tenancies. The premises and any residential lease related to it is alleged to be subject to the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (CRLTO).

The Complaint seeks class action status on behalf of other tenants on the premises, and claims, on information and belief, that the Defendants have violated the provisions of the CRLTO by failing to pay interest due on the security deposits of tenants renting there within 30 days of the end of each 12-month rental period. Additionally, the Defendants are alleged to have improperly made these security deposits or prepaid rent subject to the claims of their creditor, and improperly required tenants to pay a sublet fee, and failed to notify tenants of the interest rate applicable to their security deposits.

The Complaint seeks recovery of double the tenant's monthly rent amount on the claim for enforcement of illegal sublet fees, double the tenants' full security deposit amount for making their deposits subject to the claims of the Defendants' creditor, and double tenants' full security deposits for failure to timely pay interest on the security deposits. On the failure to provide notice of the interest rate applicable to tenant security deposits, the Complaint seeks an award of $100 for each tenant.

An award of attorneys' fees and costs is also sought.