Jury Rules in Favor of Denver Tenants in Bad Landlord Lawsuit

After a four-year wait, tenants at Mint Urban Infinity prevailed in a class action lawsuit filed over poor conditions at the apartment complex.

In an eight-day trial in Denver District Court, lawyers for former tenants of the 561-unit Denver apartment complex argued that Mint Urban's property manager and owner had broken both the Colorado Warranty of Habitability and the terms of the tenants’ leases by neglecting to perform proper maintenance at Mint Urban.

“We’re very excited about this verdict and holding them accountable for fulfilling their obligations to renters in this state,” says Jason Legg, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “We hope this makes more renters in the state feel emboldened to organize and advocate for themselves.”

Legg has been part of the legal battle since 2021, when a group of Mint Urban residents first filed the lawsuit and signed affidavits that the Warranty of Habitability had been breached in their units.

Cardinal Group Management, the property manager found at fault by the jury, claimed the issues at the property stemmed from a reluctance to approve funds for maintenance by the owners, and then from delays during the COVID-19 pandemic. Glendale Properties I and II, the owner of the property, said it had always been responsive to the complex's needs.

A seven-person jury unanimously ruled that anyone who lived at Mint Urban from September 2018 to June 2022 experienced unlivable conditions in violation of the Warranty of Habitability during that time period.

With that determination, the jury awarded those residents 32.4 percent of the monthly costs of their units in damages. Because the jury also found the defendants didn’t use customary diligence in regard to the lease agreements, the jury awarded an additional $200 in damages to every person in the class.

Using an estimate of around $1,200 per month in average rent, the damages will likely total around $13.5 million, with each person who lived at Mint Urban during the four-year period covered by the lawsuit receiving around $560, depending on their exact rent.

The jury ruled that Glendale bore 70 percent of the fault and Cardinal bore 30 percent, with each company responsible for the same portion of payments to tenants.

After Judge Jon Jay Olafson read the verdict, Legg and class representative Brandon Smith embraced.

“It’s a huge relief,” Smith says. “This took hundreds of people coming together and overcoming fear of retaliation during some awful conditions.”
The "awful conditions" at the 1261 South Bellaire Street complex included broken elevators, leaks, pests, unsecured doors and a lack of hot water and air conditioning.

During the trial, the defendants argued that the only breach of the Warranty of Habitability was a nine-day period in 2021 when hot water was out at the complex, but the jury ruled that the warranty had been violated 100 percent of the time during the relevant time period.

The jury found that a second class of tenants, including anyone charged an administrative fee meant to cover the costs of administering the lease such as maintenance and pest control, did not deserve compensation as the fee did not violate Colorado law.

Still, the ruling represents a big win for tenants in Colorado, according to the plaintiffs’ legal team.

“We’re proud of the precedent this sets, and were excited to bring more class actions on behalf of tenants who have suffered these kinds of conditions,” Benjamin DeGolia, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, says. “We hope this makes landlords think twice before knowingly subjecting their tenants to these kinds of awful conditions.”

Legg co-founded the Justice for the People Legal Center with local organizer Dre Chiriboga-Flor as lawsuit went on, with a goal to help others in similar positions. Along with Legg and DeGolia, state representative Steven Woodrow, Maddy Bullard and Cam Netherland represented the plaintiffs.

After the trial, Legg praised class representatives Smith, Kendra Raylene Keely, Lynette Rhodes and Shivani Mohan for their bravery and selflessness.

Mohan says she wants other renters to know there are always resources available if they need help with bad landlords, while an emotional Smith said it feels good to know what he and his former neighbors did could help others.

“This is going to have a widespread impact on state law, a much bigger impact than we could have thought,” Smith adds.

In a statement to Westword, Cardinal says it is "disappointed in the outcome," and that the ruling will dissuade property management companies from investing in Denver.

"Our team worked incredibly hard to maintain this property in the face of outstanding obstruction by the owner. This verdict does not reflect the hard work and diligence they put in every day," Cardinal's statement continues.

Lawyers for Glendale declined to comment after the trial. Before the trial began, Glendale filed a lawsuit against Cardinal for failing to maintain insurance policies, “including ‘E&O Coverage' for criminal acts of Cardinal’s employees, employee fidelity insurance, and employer liability insurance.”

Glendale claims that any costs the company has to pay related to the class action should have been covered by those policies, arguing that a jury should rule that Cardinal compensate Glendale for those costs.

Residents of Mint Urban who are part of the class will hear from the class administrator about their compensation. Anyone who believes they are part of the class or needs to update their contact information can reach out through the class administrator website, but members of the class should not have to reach out to receive compensation as part of the trial involved Cardinal providing a list of all the residents of Mint Urban during the relevant period.