A Dallas, Texas man is out thousands of dollars after an apartment complex mistakenly evicted him and threw everything in a dumpster.
Johnny Abney told Fox 4 News he came home from work in late July to find everything he owned was thrown in a dumpster by maintenance. All that was left were a bed frame and some of his 9-year-old daughter’s clothes and shoes.
“Clothing items, all my groceries, they cleaned out my whole refrigerator,” Abney said.
He said the eviction was accidentally ordered for the wrong unit by management at The Hamilton, a high end luxury apartment building where he and his daughter lived in the Deep Ellum neighborhood.
“Everything from a toothbrush, bathing items. They pretty much left me with nothing,” Abney told Fox 4 News.
He filed a police report after a leasing agent told him there was a “misunderstanding,” and maintenance “accidentally” cleared out Abney’s unit instead of the unit next door.
Abney filmed the other residents picking over his items that were thrown out by maintenance. “Is this your stuff?” a resident asked him on camera.
Abney said his discarded mattress had been urinated on.
“Not only did they put my stuff out, they watched people take all my property all day,” he said.
Building management said Abney has no rights to reimbursement because the apartment was leased by his ex-girlfriend, who moved out of state. Abney took over the lease and paid the nearly $3,000 monthly rent on time.
The management returned what was left of Abney’s belongings to his unit. They even had the mattress professionally cleaned, according to Fox 4 News.
But most of his and his daughter’s stuff – including a flat screen TV and stereo – were gone.
Abney has now filed a lawsuit against the property management company. He said they gave him 24 hours to fill out his own rental application or face eviction.
“I’ve already lost property now you’re trying to kick me off the property at short notice with no resolve,” he said.
Watch the video below.
