A jury in the Eighth Judicial District Court of Nevada has made a $6.6 million judgment in favor of three former tenants of a Las Vegas apartment complex in a case against their property manager, Newport Beach, California-based Anza Management.
The plaintiffs, a mother and her two children, moved into the Las Palomas Apartments in August 2019, according to local news outlet 8 News Now. In the three months they lived there, the plaintiffs allege that the growth of toxic mold in the unit caused by unfixed leaks led to or exacerbated chronic health problems for the residents.
On Nov. 23, 2019, the unit’s ceiling collapsed on the mother, after which her daughter was sent to the hospital with an asthma attack. They have since moved out of the unit, according to 8 News Now.
Throughout the five years before the plaintiffs moved into the property, court records show that the property manager received 11 complaints related to ceiling and roof leaks, as well as 25 complaints related to water leaks and mold, according to 8 News Now.
The plaintiffs filed an initial complaint against Anza Management in April 2021, according to Eighth Judicial District Court records. Following an arbitration in 2022 and a series of hearings, the trial began on Dec. 3, 2024.
Anza Management’s attorney, Elizabeth Skane, stated in the trial that her client had immediately addressed all complaints related to the ceiling leaks, according to 8 News Now. Anza, a third-party manager with over 13,000 units in California, Arizona and Nevada, according to its website, did not respond to a request for comment from Multifamily Dive.
The jury rendered its judgment on Dec. 20, finding the defendant liable for negligence, gross negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and breach of the implied warranty of habitability, according to court documents. The final sum was a combined award for all three plaintiffs based on past and future suffering, plus punitive damages, as well as over $640,000 in pre-judgment interest accumulated between 2021 and 2024. The judgment will continue accumulating over $2,000 in interest per day until it is paid.
Anza Management filed an appeal against the verdict on Jan. 17 and requested a new trial, which the plaintiffs have opposed, according to court documents. A series of hearings on the appeal are scheduled for February and March.
