Lindsey Management Faces Tenants’ Class-action Lawsuit

Photo By Terrah Baker
The Cliffs apartment complex in Fayetteville owned by Lindsey Management Company, Inc.

“In one of numerous instances, a disabled Saline County resident rented from Fountain Lake Apartments, a Lindsey property – to discover unlivable conditions, including roach infestation.”

Complaint Alleges Fraud and Conspiracy

Staff Report

Fayetteville-based Lindsey Management Company, Inc. (Lindsey) is being sued over allegations that it has engaged in fraud and conspiracy. The class-action lawsuit brought by former tenants of Lindsey charges the corporation with deceptive practices and endangering tenants’ health and safety.

The lawsuit was filed last month in Saline County Circuit Court seeking an unspecified amount in damages for alleged violations of the Arkansas Deceptive and Unconscionable Trade Practices Act (ADTPA).

In one of numerous instances, a disabled Saline County resident rented from Fountain Lake Apartments, a Lindsey property – to discover unlivable conditions, including roach infestation.

The 24-page lawsuit also claims that Lindsey, which owns and operates more than 2,500 apartment units located in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Mississippi and Alabama, has designed a scheme in which titles to each property are held by a separate legal entity.

Mickey Stevens, the plaintiffs’ attorney, says Lindsey uses an alter ego scheme to circumvent liability. “Lindsey designed its companies as a separate entity to avoid liability. These entities are merely shams or alter egos of Lindsey, and Lindsey is the true owner of the properties.”

Stevens said that ADTPA is in place to protect the rights of everyone, and especially those who are vulnerable and who are reasonably unable to protect his or her interest. “There is a systemic pattern and routine practice of disregard to the health, safety and well-being of residents at Lindsey owned and operated proprieties. Laws are in place to protect those who have been wronged. It is our job to ensure that this protection is defended and to hold those accountable who are at fault,” he said.

The lawsuit lists four prior NWA residents as plaintiffs in the case, while the class the plaintiffs represent is comprised of “All persons who have resided in apartments located in the state of Arkansas and managed by Lindsey in the last five years, and who have been a victim of the deceptive and unconscionable trade practices…”

The lawsuit states that Lindsey and its shareholders, directors and officers have established a scheme in which the title to each property is held by a separate legal entity, leaving Lindsey free of liability and can be used defensibly in lawsuits, which it has. Along with this lawsuit, 83 complaints were collected from the Better Business Bureau in Little Rock since 2010, containing similar complaints as the lawsuit addresses.

Damages sought after in the lawsuit include actual damages in an amount determined at trial, punitive damages, costs and reasonable attorney fees, rescission of the lease agreements and an injunction barring Lindsey from reporting derogatory information to any credit bureaus regarding any plaintiff, along with barring collection actions and providing negative references for any plaintiff.

For more information, contact Mickey Stevens at 501-303-6668.