Bedbug infestation brings suit

Son, parents suing subsidized-housing unit's managers

Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 15, 2006 at midnight

Text size  

• 0 Comments
• Email
• Print

Charlotte McConnell, 74, deaf and blind, was plagued for months with bedbug bites - tiny, itchy dots that numbered, at one count, more than 250.

Now she, her husband and their son are suing the managers of the subsidized-housing building where she lived, saying they failed to combat an infestation and evicted the couple after they complained to the city.

McConnell, her husband, Willard, and their son, John, sued the managers of the Tower at Speer, 1255 Galapago St., on Monday, alleging outrageous conduct and wrongful eviction.

The lawsuit, filed in Denver district court by attorneys John Holland and Anna Cayton-Holland, also asks for damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress, violation of the Colorado Fair Housing Act and discrimination and retaliation against the disabled.

The lawsuit also seeks damages for defamation on behalf of John McConnell, whom apartment managers reported to Adult Protective Services for neglect and parental abuse after he reported the bedbug infestation to city health officials.

"These innocent, disabled, elderly plaintiffs were repeatedly fed upon by bugs with no assistance from the management," Cayton-Holland said. "When they had the temerity to complain," they were evicted.

A woman answering the phone at the Tower at Speer hung up on a reporter who called seeking the building management's comment.

The lawsuit gives this account:

The couple's son, John, first noticed bedbug bites on his parents in November and asked that his parents be moved until the infestation was taken care of. The disabled couple had lived in subsidized housing at the Tower at Speer since 1998.

John McConnell offered to purchase new furniture and clothing for his parents so they didn't bring the bedbugs to a new apartment.

But the managers refused and didn't schedule a fumigation until Dec. 28. On that day, the exterminator left without spraying because no one had told the McConnells they had to move their furniture away from the walls.

A new fumigation date was set for Jan. 16. Willard McConnell, 76, who is partially deaf and walks with a cane, struggled to move furniture and mattresses as best he could.

By the time the unit was sprayed, the infestation was so severe that one fumigation didn't eradicate the bugs.

In mid-March, Willard McConnell again complained to management because they continued to be bitten.

"He was embarrassed," the complaint said, "because defendants unfairly made him feel like it was their fault and they were dirty, unclean people."

Contrary to popular belief, a bedbug infestation is usually not the result of poor housekeeping or hygiene.

"Bedbugs typically are attracted by carbon dioxide, not by dirt," the complaint says. "They feed on blood, not on filth."

John McConnell didn't see much of his parents in March and April because they were not feeling well, but he presumed that the fumigation had been effective.

When his parents came to Sunday dinner on April 9, however, he saw his mother was still covered with so many bites that he stopped counting after finding 250. His father also had bites, but fewer because he was better able to fight them off.

John McConnell kept his parents at his home overnight and took his mother to Denver Health Medical Center for treatment the next day.

He again complained to managers. He begged for his parents to be moved to a new unit and again offered to pay to replace their furniture and clothing but was refused.

Frustrated and outraged, John McConnell reported the infestation to the city's Department of Environmental Health. An inspector cited the building April 12 for failing to properly exterminate the bedbugs.

A day later, Adult Protective Services officials told John McConnell they had received a complaint from the building's management that he was abusing his parents.

The day after that, the couple was evicted, the complaint alleges.

Despite the fact that bedbug infestations are not caused by filth, the eviction notice stated, "Your home is infested with bedbugs and you are not keeping the apartment clean or preparing for pest control."

After an April 17 meeting, protective-services officials found no basis for the complaint against John McConnell. Then, after evicting the McConnells, managers offered to move them to a different unit.

"This only happened when they realized their malicious efforts to injure this family were being rebuffed by government officials," the complaint said.

As a result of the eviction, the McConnells lost their Section 8 housing subsidies, the complaint said. They are now living with their son.

Environmental Health Director Karol Holcomb said the city's case against the Tower at Speer remains open. The building is due for reinspection Aug. 29.

Bedbug facts

• Bedbugs feed only on blood, so baits and traps used for other insects don't work on them.

• Bedbugs aren't known to spread disease to humans.

• Bedbugs lay about 200 eggs at a time, usually in the crevices of a floor or bed.

• International travel contributes to the spread of bedbugs, which are transported in luggage, clothing and bedding.Sources: Denver Department Of Environmental Health; Mayo Clinic

Featured

• Through Your Lens

  

  Submit your photos or see the Editor's Choice slide show here.

• Rocky Multimedia

  

  The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on what's happening today.

• Holiday Lights

  

  Is your house the jolliest on the block? Submit your holiday lights display.

• Holiday Gift Guide

  

  Looking to get a jump-start on the holiday shopping season?

• Mount Crushmore

  

  Which four Broncos greats should be immortalized on Mount Crushmore? Vote here.

• Bronco Dean's rant

  

  Listen to Bronco Dean's midweek rant on the Chiefs.

• Broncos Video

  

  Get the latest from Dove Valley as the Broncos prepare for Sunday's matchup.

• Calendar wallpaper

  

  Download this month's desktop wallpaper calendar

• Sam Adams' Open Mic

  

  Open Mic: Stirrin' the Soup with Matt Iseman