By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau
KANE‘OHE — Several residents of the Kulana Nani housing project have sued the city and Hawai‘i Affordable Properties Inc. for allegedly violating tenants’ constitutional rights by interfering with their efforts to organize and participate in a tenants’ association.
Also named as a defendant is Ross Sasamura, who as director of the Department of Facility Maintenance oversees Hawai‘i Affordable Properties, the city’s housing management company.
The suit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court on behalf of Dorothea Pale, Mary-Lynne Ludloff and Fisiipeau Drummondo. Pale and Ludloff have been residents of the 160-unit complex for five and 17 years, respectively. Drummondo lived at the project for seven years until she was evicted in October.
The suit follows months of tension over what residents said was the intimidation of tenants, uneven enforcement of house rules and dishonest and abusive statements that began after the plaintiffs and other tenants voiced their concerns with management in a public demonstration in May 2000. In October, U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink called for a federal investigation of Kulana Nani.
"(Attorney Michael Cruise) cited 20 pages of all the things the management company has done to violate our civil rights, our rights to privacy, harassment and intimidation," Ludloff said yesterday.
Hawai‘i Affordable Properties manager Mike Sohriakoff said he hasn’t seen the lawsuit but said the company supports a community association and has addressed every complaint it has received.
"We’re in no way trying to deter residents from forming an association," Sohriakoff said. "In fact, we encourage it because it enables them to get involved with management."
The city did not respond yesterday to a call for comments.
Hawai‘i Affordable Properties took over managing the property about a year and a half ago. Sohriakoff said the buildings were run down and the company implemented new rules.
He said personality differences between the apartment manager and the tenants account for most of the problems.
"I think the majority of the people are happy with the changes we made," he said.
The lawsuit said that, in August, the manager began monthly inspections of Ludloff’s apartment.
Two days after one inspection, a box of papers documenting problems at the complex disappeared from her unit. Police said the thief appeared to have entered with a key, the complaint said.
Management refused to renew Ludloff’s lease without cause, the suit says, and then initiated eviction proceedings. The suit says she owed no rent, and the initial eviction notice provided no grounds for the eviction.
Cruise, attorney for the plaintiffs, said this type of harassment intimidated people and discouraged them from forming an association. Along with that, the management adopted rules that made it even more difficult to organize.
"The law provides for the tenants to be really involved in all facets of managing the property," Cruise said. "It seems the city has a pretty narrow view of what the tenants’ association can do."
The plaintiffs seek punitive or exemplary damages, to amend the house rules to comply with the law, expungement of all unwarranted violations on plaintiffs’ records and to be able to organize, associate and enjoy their personal property.
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