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Jul 6, 2009 6:49 pm US/Central
Dallas Apartment Resident Without A/C For 3 Weeks
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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Barclay Square Apartments
KTVT / KTXA
The air conditioning may be back on for some residents, but tenants of the Barclay Square Apartments in Dallas say they're still having problems and they're worried about their health.
Dallas lawyer Manuel Alvarez has filed a class-action lawsuit against the company that owns the complex. Alvarez says he is asking the court to issue a temporary injunction, ordering the complex to make the repairs.
Some of the 141 units at the complex now have central air conditioning but a number of tenants say they're still without it. "In the evening it's hot," explained tenant Rosa Cordova. Cordova, who has a three-month-old son, says her air conditioning unit was operational for a few hours in the last four days.
CBS 11 News talked with Cordova inside her Pleasant Grove apartment. During our time inside, she said she had the system on the coolest setting but there was no cool air coming out of the vents.
"Every year it's the same thing," said Cordova, who claims the Barclay Square Apartments have had repeated problems with the air conditioning system.
Adrianna Rojas is three-months-pregnant and said she is worried about her health when the temperature outside rises. "Too hot. I feel bad," she said.
The complex manager claims that all the repairs have been made, and if any tenants are still having problems, it's because they haven't reported it to the management office.
Claims of repairs were news to a number of tenants who told CBS 11 News they are still without air conditioning. Alvarez even claims some tenants have slept outdoors to be cool.
Monday's hearing in Judge Gena Slaughter's court was postponed until Wednesday at 9am, due to a technicality. Ken Chaiken, the attorney representing the apartment complex, argued about the need for a hearing and pointed out that a key document had not been properly notarized.
Attorneys for the tenants say the lack of air conditioning is leading to a lot of health problems. Judge Slaughter said, "The allegations are very serious and I take them seriously".
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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