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Washington, DC — Legal Aid DC and Arnold & Porter have reached a settlement agreement on behalf of tenants in the deteriorating Marbury Plaza apartment complex that promises $810,000 in payment to tenants and other protections. The settlement, negotiated as part of the property owner’s bankruptcy case, marks a milestone in residents’ years-long fight for improved conditions at Marbury Plaza, which has more than 650 units.

As part of the settlement, the property was sold to a company owned by Clear Investment Group. The agreement was confirmed by Judge Elizabeth Gunn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia on Sept. 17, 2024. The full terms and benefits of the settlement, as confirmed in the plan approved by the bankruptcy court, went into effect on Dec. 31, 2024, the date the sale of the property closed.

“Marbury Plaza tenants have been fighting for years to address the unacceptable conditions and human suffering caused by a neglectful landlord,” said Eleni Christidis, Supervising Attorney at Legal Aid DC. “While the tenants’ fight is not over, Legal Aid is proud to have represented the tenants in securing these payments and protections as part of the bankruptcy case.”

The bankruptcy case was one in a string of legal battles for Marbury Plaza, where tenants have long reported serious health and safety issues, including leaks, mold, non-working elevators, inadequate security, and lack of heat, hot water, and air conditioning.

In 2021, the DC Office of the Attorney General sued the complex’s previous owner, a company called MP PPH, LLC, over a “minefield of housing code violations,” and the owner agreed to make repairs. In April 2023, DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz held the company in contempt of court for failing to fulfill its obligations and ordered MP PPH to reduce tenants’ rents by 50 percent for the months that the court-ordered repairs weren’t completed. Instead of complying with the judge’s order, MP PPH declared bankruptcy and began trying to sell the property.

Legal Aid DC and pro bono attorneys at Arnold & Porter stepped into the bankruptcy case in November 2023 to serve as counsel to a committee of 135 tenants and to advocate for the interests of the property’s residents. 

"It was important that Marbury Plaza tenants have a real voice in these proceedings. This isn't just about an apartment complex: It's about the hundreds of families who live there and who deserve to have a seat at the table,” said Rosa Evergreen, a partner at Arnold & Porter who led the case.

After intense negotiations, Legal Aid and Arnold & Porter reached an agreement with MP PPH and Clear Investment Group. Under the terms of the settlement agreement: 

• MP PPH will not seek to collect back rent from tenants;
• Approximately 80 tenants with pending eviction cases for non-payment of rent are eligible to have their cases dismissed;
• Approximately 240 tenants who were involved in bankruptcy proceedings will receive a total of $810,000 in payments;
• All tenants will be able to keep rent credits and security deposits on their accounts even after the property’s transition to the new owner.

“Marbury Plaza tenants are still living with these dangerous conditions every day. We hope that this will be a new start and that we will finally see things start to change for the better,” said Tomora Redman, president of the committee of tenants represented by Legal Aid and Arnold & Porter. “We all deserve to have a healthy and safe home for our families.”

These payments to tenants offer some degree of compensation for those who participated in the bankruptcy and who lived for years in unhealthy, unsanitary, and unsafe conditions in their apartments and the building common areas, in violation of the tenants’ leases and DC law. 

Separate litigation around the conditions at Marbury Plaza is still ongoing in D.C. Superior Court, where the DC Office of the Attorney General is pursuing additional damages against Anthony Pilavas, the owner of MP PPH. Tenants may receive additional compensation as a result of that case. 

For media inquiries, please email media@legalaiddc.org