The former occupants of luxury apartments in New Jersey's Avalon at Edgewater that burned down last week are filing a class action lawsuit against the real estate company, the Daily News reported on Thursday.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of over 1,000 affected residents and was officially put forward by two former tenants. The catastrophic blaze that sent more than half of the complex to the ground occurred on Jan. 21.
AvalonBay Communities Inc. was negligent during construction, maintenance and operation after a blowtorch was found during infrastructure repairs by investigators, the lawsuit states. The fire also destroyed all of the affected people's belongings and killed some of their pets.
Robert Loposky and Richard Kemp, who filed the suit, said the lightweight wood the company used during construction allowed the complex to go up in flames easily.
This fire was not the first, nor is this the first lawsuit against the company. The complex caught on fire in 2000, and 13 residents filed a lawsuit. AvalonBay paid $6 million in family settlements in 2005, NJ.com reported.
