Former residents of the now-condemned Aspen Place Apartments in Gardner have sued for damages, alleging that the complex’s owner, KDR Realty LLC, was aware for years of the persistent water problems that ultimately rendered the complex uninhabitable, yet took next to no action to address them.
The suit also alleges that KDR did not tell prospective tenants of problems with the water system before they signed a lease and that the business tried to pass the costs of the plumbing problems along to tenants through fees and a requirement to buy a renter’s insurance personal liability policy with a minimum limit of $100,000.
On May 6, residents of the 188-unit complex were given 48 hours to move after the city of Gardner said the water infrastructure had deteriorated so badly that it presented safety concerns for inhabitants and could hamper firefighting efforts.
Residents there had been reporting frequent leaky pipes, mold and mildew, low water pressure and times when water wasn’t available.
The lawsuit seeks class-action status
The suit was brought in federal court by residents Aric Cooperwood and Anthony and Rachel Fellows but seeks class-action status on behalf of tenants who lived there for the past five years. That covers well over 1,000 people and “quite possibly several thousand” according to the petition.
It seeks damages for back rent, property loss and emotional distress. According to a footnote in the petition, the rent damages alone could amount to over $11 million.
The landlord “has demonstrated a robust pattern and practice of misconduct ranging from gross negligence to outright venality, both within and without Aspen Place,” the suit says.
Leah Wankum
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Johnson County Post
Eight business entities are named as defendants.
They were companies related to current owners KDR, with addresses in Lenexa and Kansas City, Kansas, and other companies related to Axiom Property Management, of Kansas City, Missouri.
KDR is listed with the Kansas Secretary of State’s office as owned by Puneet and Aabha Gorawara of Lenexa. Axiom was the owner of the Aspen Place property before 2022, when KDR purchased it.
‘Shamelessly nickel-and-dimed’ residents
Aspen Place, 101 Aspen St. in Gardner, was built in 1954 as family housing for the Olathe Naval Air Station (now the New Century AirCenter). Its water supply still comes from New Century.
The complex owners had been cited by Gardner 43 times from January through May 5, when the condemnation notice was posted, according to city records. The day before it was condemned, a fire truck sank into a street at the complex while responding to an emergency call.
Aric Cooperwood, one of the named plaintiffs, moved into Aspen Place in December 2022 and had renewed through January, 2026. He was paying $1,063 a month plus an extra fee for “landlord liability,” according to the suit.
The owners “shamelessly nickel-and-dimed,” the Aspen Place tenants, charging fees for water usage while failing to provide essential services, the suit alleges.
Film loftus
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Johnson County Post
“Reading between the lines, the terms of Mr. Cooperwood’s lease rendered it that much more evident that KDR knew the complex’s water systems were a mess and passed the cost and responsibility therefore onto tenants,” the suit says.
The two other plaintiffs, Anthony and Rachel Fellows, had lived at the complex since 2020 and reported sewage backups and mold, as well as a two-week water outage around Christmas 2023 and a week-long outage in 2024.
KDR was “exceedingly slow” to respond and also marked maintenance requests “complete” without having done anything, the suit says.
The lawsuit also alleges that the owners retaliated against the Fellowses because of negative reviews they’d left online and because Rachel commented in a news story.
The management rejected their lease renewal application, relenting only after insisting Rachel delete the negative reviews, according to the suit.
Lawsuit website set up for Aspen Place residents
Attorney Bryce Bell of the Kansas City-based Bell Law firm, who is representing Cooperwood and the Fellowses, said they have used class action lawsuits for past housing cases.
“We look at it as the best avenue to help the most people as possible,” Bryce told the Post in an interview. “It provides the most relief to the most people and is the best vehicle to achieve that goal.”
Bell Law has also set up a website for Aspen Place residents to find the best resources at aspenplacelawsuit.com.
“The years of neglect leading up to condemnation were well-suited for a class action lawsuit,” Bell said.
The Axiom companies are named because they owned the complex before 2022, when KDR bought it for $9 million.
The suit seeks disclosure of information that may have been disclosed during that sale.
Attorneys listed for the defendants did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.
This story was originally published by the Johnson County Post.
