Plaintiffs in LIHTC case file motion for class-action certification

A motion seeking class-action certification was filed July 10 by plaintiffs in a lawsuit pitting residents of two low-income housing developments against a developer who hopes to transition the properties into upscale senior housing.

The motion in Ramona Teeter et al. v. Zimmerman Properties LLC et al. is the latest development in a case filed against Mitch and Amanda Jenkins, who purchased Rosewood Estates and Cedarwood Terrace in February 2024 through entities Cedarwood Terrace LLC and 604-1120 Sunset LLC, of which Mitch Jenkins is managing member, according to his testimony in a temporary injunction hearing in the case on March 30.

The properties are occupied by tenants living under the poverty line, many with disabilities, advanced age or family responsibilities, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

The developers aim to convert the properties from the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, or LIHTC, program into upscale senior housing units, and it’s an investment that will require current residents to be evicted, according to past SBJ reporting.

The new filing maintains that the defendants have failed to follow basic notice and good-cause eviction procedures, placing the communities’ residents under imminent threat. The lawsuit requests declaratory and injunctive relief in order for plaintiffs to preserve their homes, the filing states.

The motion for class designation asks for certification of two classes, described as the affordability class and the lease renewal declaratory relief class. The plaintiffs have filed the motion while awaiting a court decision on a preliminary injunction request that would allow them to stay in their homes until the case is decided. A nine-day jury trial is scheduled for April 2027 before Judge Joshua Christensen of the 31st Judicial Circuit Court.

The motion for class certification cites legal precedent from 2004 as saying that in Missouri, “a class action is designed to promote judicial economy by permitting the litigation of the common questions of law and fact of numerous individuals in a single proceeding.”

The filing also states four requirements – numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequacy – must be satisfied under Missouri law for class certification:

1. The class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable.

2. There are questions of law or fact common to the class.

3. The claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class.

4. The representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.

It also requires that relief is appropriate for the class as a whole.

The plaintiffs request an order appointing them as class representatives on behalf of the two proposed classes and that the court appoint their attorneys as counsel for the entire class.

The plaintiffs are represented by Kansas City-based Heartland Center for Jobs & Freedom. The named plaintiffs are Ramona Teeter, Shellastine Williams, Jami Johnson and Emily Hester.

Defendants are Zimmerman Properties LLC, Wilhoit Properties Inc., Cedarwood Terrace Apartments LP, Cedarwood Terrace LLC, 604-1120 Sunset LLC, Bryan Properties Management Co. LLC, Rosewood Estates LP, GPS Property Management LLC and the Missouri Housing Development Corp., each with one to six attorneys named in court files.