A man in Texas says everything he and his nine-year-old daughter owned ended up in a dumpster, after building management 'accidentally' evicted them, mistakingly emptying out their unit instead of the actual tenants who were to be evicted.
Johnny Abney, a Deep Ellum resident, says he's out tens of thousands of dollars after the maintenance team hired by building management got the wrong flat and threw everything - from toys to toothbrushes - into the trash. He said 'everything' he had built is gone.
"Clothing items. All of my groceries. They cleared out my refrigerator full of groceries," he said. "Right down to the shower curtain." The management at the Hamilton, the high-end midrise apartment building where Abney lived with his daughter, had initially apologized for the misunderstanding, but now are trying to evict Abney anyway.
Johnny Abney spent years building a life for himself and his 9-year-old daughter, everything they own is gone, he says (FOX 4)"They came to my door and cleaned everything out from my clothes to my daughter’s clothes, toothbrush, bathing items, pretty much left me with nothing," he said. A leasing agent on site told Fox News that "there was a misunderstanding, and maintenance accidentally cleared out Abney's unit" instead of the unit next door where a tenant was being evicted.
His locks were dismantled and all of his items were put out while he alleges that management watched other residents pick over all of his items. "Not only did they put my stuff out. They watched people take my property all day," he said. Management had the mattresses professionally cleaned and Abney hauled whatever he could find back to his apartment, but most items are missing or damaged, he continued to explain.
I'm a mum who takes my kids out of school for holidays - it saves me thousands
Abney shows media that all of his items were damaged in the process, and has filed suit against the building (FOX 4)"They told me it was a mistake. They apologized," Abney said. "They were overly apologetic. ‘Let us know if anything's missing.’" But then the situation flipped. Abney says he recorded a conversation with one of the leasing agents who was quick to point out that the man was 'illegally subletting' his apartment from an ex-girlfriend.
Receipts provided by the man show that he was paying the full $3,000 in rent for the apartment every month, but the management company was quick to shut down any conversations about paying him back for the items that were damaged or missing because he's not the leaseholder. "We are binded like by law. We cannot discuss anything with you or anybody who is not her lease," the apartment manager said.
Abney came home to find his apartment empty - but he wasn't robbed, building management said they did it 'by mistake' (FOX 4)Abney filed a suit against the management of the building, and according to him, they've posted a notice on his door telling him he must vacate the property. "I've already lost property," he said. "Now you trying to kick me off the property with no resolve?"
Jason Freidman is Abney's attorney. He says the issue of who was on the lease is irrelevant. "The rent was paid in full. There was no reason to go into his apartment. There was no reason to throw anything away," he said. "The apartment building didn't know when they threw all of that stuff away who's stuff it was, whether it was the person on the lease or his."
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