AURORA, Colo — Former residents of The Summit View Inn are filing a class action lawsuit with its parent company VareCo nearly two months after they say they were removed from their homes.
The suit was filed on Friday on behalf off three former residents identified as Sneed, Rogers and Marshall. The lawsuit alleged they were established tenants and removed under threat of force illegally.
"A tenant has certain rights in Colorado, and those rights were violated," said Burt Nadler, a lawyer with the Colorado COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project. "Nobody should have to suffer the indignity that these people suffered or the fear that they suffered when they did."
On Sept. 14, the residents were handed notices that they would no longer be allowed to live on the property after Oct. 28. The notice also said they would be required to move out on Oct. 2. Colorado law requires a one month notice for an eviction.
Cellphone video from Oct. 3rd shows armed security guards on the property, the day former residents say they were forced out.
The lawsuit alleges the residents established tenancy because many had lived at the Summit View Inn for years and had signed various agreements with the hotel. They also say the hotel required cleaning of the rooms but did not provide housekeeping.
The lawsuit alleges that the residents were removed by force by a private security company, something only allowed by the sheriff's department. They also allege that residents were removed without time to take professional and personal items with them.
"I have one client who lost the family bible, one client who lost the ashes of his grandparents," Nadler said. "Somebody lost their social security card."
Managers at VareCo declined to comment on the pending litigation, but a spokesperson for the company did send a statement to Denver7:
"Our team has consistently worked with the city of Aurora and nonprofit Aurora Warms the Night to transition guests to safe housing," spokesperson Wendy Aiello said in a statement on behalf of VareCo. "If a guest feels that we have unfairly kept their belongings, we welcome them back to retrieve what they left behind."
