Los Angeles
Douglas Emmett sued for fire safety before Barrington Plaza evictions
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Tenants sue to stop Barrington Plaza evictions
Douglas Emmett maintains it followed the law to clear the building for fire upgrades
Douglas Emmett’s Jordan Kaplan and Barrington Plaza in West Los Angeles (Photo Illustration by Steven Dilakian for The Real Deal with Getty and Budlong Inc.)
Landlord Douglas Emmett was hit with another lawsuit over its mass evictions for fire issues at the beleaguered Barrington Plaza, one of West Los Angeles’ largest multifamily complexes.
The publicly traded real estate investment trust made headlines in May for evicting tenants of Barrington’s more than 700 affordable units. Douglas Emmett announced the evictions were needed to clear the way to install new fire sprinkling systems, at a cost of $300 million, in the more than 60-year-old high-rise building. The property owner said that California law, the Ellis Act, gave it the legal right to evict.
A lawsuit filed June 12 in L.A. Superior Court seeks to stop the evictions. The firm of Campbell & Farahani, representing the Barrington Plaza Tenant Association, alleges Douglas Emmett did not follow the Ellis Act, which gives landlords legal protection in evicting tenants if they are permanently taking a building out of the rental market.
The lawsuit alleges that in financial documents filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, Douglas Emmett made no statement that it was permanently withdrawing Barrington Plaza from the rental market. It also told the City of Los Angeles Housing Department that it was “undecided” about future uses for Barrington Plaza, which would leave it open to rentals.
Eric Rose, a Douglas Emmett representative, rejected the lawsuit’s allegations. Rose said that the REIT had followed the Ellis Act. Putting the units back on the rental market remains an option.
“(O)wnership of Barrington Plaza has been and continues to be uncertain about the ultimate disposition of the units and are preparing for a host of options, inclusive of rehabilitation of the complex to comply with all current fire and life safety requirements,” he said.
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In May, a separate suit was filed against Douglas Emmett by a Barrington Plaza tenant. The lawsuit alleges that the REIT neglected the multifamily facility’s fire safety for years.