LANSING, Mich. — The back and forth between Autumn Ridge and the City of Lansing just got a little more confrontational, after Autumn Ridge filed a $44 - million lawsuit against the city, claiming they were treated unfairly and not taken through the proper process before the city placed pink and red tags at the complex last month.
“Right now, there are about 22 units out there that are red tagged, that means those units should be vacant and the rest of the units are pink tagged because it lacks a valid renter's certificate,” said City of Lansing’s Director of Economic Development and Planning Rawley Van Fossen.
The city said the complex has over 230 open violations, but according to the lawsuit, Autumn Ridge believes the location should not be pink or red tagged.
First reason, is because the lawsuit claims the city breached a settlement from 2022, that says a process should be followed before tags are placed. Autumn Ridge said the city did not follow that process.
Next, the lawsuit said the pink and red tags cost the Autumn Ridge owners millions of dollars and that the owners were planning on selling the property, but because of the tags - they said the property’s value has gone down.
Another example listed in the lawsuit, said when the city placed the tags on the complex, they allegedly told tenants not to pay their rent, which resulted in a decline in revenue and tenants terminating their lease.
“When we pink tag a unit, it does open the door in terms of how tenants pay their rent,” said Van Fossen. “So there are ways in which tenants can escrow their rent in a separate account and when the property is brought up to code, they can pay the land lord the money.
Autumn Ridge declined to comment on the lawsuit.
City of Lansing provided this statement saying:
“The City normally does not comment on litigation, however, we have been actively involved with Autumn Ridge for a number of years and are acutely aware of the current situation. These latest claims have absolutely no merit and we are exploring all options moving forward on this matter.”
