LA Chinatown seniors settle lawsuit after years of unsafe apartment conditions

Nearly 200 elderly residents of Cathay Manor, a subsidized 16-story apartment complex in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, have reached a formal settlement after years of battling unsafe living conditions.

The lawsuit was filed in September 2021 in Los Angeles County Superior Court after both elevators failed for weeks in the summer, leaving many seniors unable to leave their apartments. Represented by Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles and Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, the tenants alleged a long-standing pattern of neglect by the nonprofit owner, CCOA Housing Corp.

Residents sound alarm: Most residents of Cathay Manor are elderly Chinese immigrants who rely on the building’s elevators to reach medical appointments, grocery stores and community services in Chinatown. According to the complaint, tenants spent months attempting to alert management to broken elevators and other maintenance problems before filing the lawsuit.

Tenant testimony and defense: “For a long time, we felt ignored and forgotten,” resident and plaintiff Wai Wing Ng said. “Some of us could not leave our apartments, and others had to risk our safety just to go down the stairs.”

The lawsuit alleged the building’s operators failed to maintain habitable conditions despite receiving federal subsidies intended to support low-income senior housing. In court filings, attorneys for the landlord denied the allegations and argued that any damages tenants suffered “may have been caused in whole or in part by the negligence or fault of others.”

Federal probe forces sale: After the lawsuit was filed, repairs were made to restore elevator service and address other maintenance problems in the building, including the laundry facilities and other habitability issues. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development later launched an investigation into CCOA Housing Corp., resulting in a $1.5 million penalty and a mandate that the nonprofit sell the property. Cathay Manor was sold to new ownership in June 2023.

The case was officially settled in January, in which the plaintiffs received a significant six-figure settlement in total damages.