Former residents of the Leland House apartments in downtown Detroit are to each get $15,000 as part of a bankruptcy court settlement that a judge approved the week of Nov. 2.
The settlement, which could exceed $500,000 in total, was obtained by the Detroit Tenants Union on behalf of the 37 residents, who were forced to evacuate the 21-story downtown high-rise last December after an electrical outage caused by broken equipment in the building.
Steven Rimmer, chair and executive director of tenants union, described the settlement, which was approved Thursday, Nov. 5, as a significant victory for the displaced renters and an outcome that doesn’t happen often in Detroit for those in similar situations. The money is to be dispensed in the coming weeks…