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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Dean Preston
October 22, 2013 415.495.8100 ext. 1001
Press Conference
10:00 AM
October 23, 2013
1431 Monument Blvd, Concord
At a press conference on Wednesday morning, tenants of a multi-unit complex in Concord will announce the filing of a major habitability lawsuit against their landlord, Rosemont LLC, because of a bed bug infestation and other substandard housing conditions. “These bed bugs are eating our clients alive,” commented attorney Steve McDonald of the tenant law firm Greenstein & McDonald, who is co-counseling the case with Leah Simon-Weisberg, Legal Director of Tenants Together.
Tenants Together, California’s statewide organization for renters’ rights, has been working for months with tenants in numerous buildings in Concord where landlords are allowing bed bug infestations to persist. Tenants are regularly bitten as they try to sleep, resulting in bites, rashes, and sleep deprivation, among other impacts. Despite requests for abatement, the problem persists. Carmen LaRosa, a long-term tenant of the Rosemont complex, commented: “We are tired of being ignored. We have lost thousands of dollars of furniture, and we can’t sleep at night because of these bed bugs. The landlord needs to do something.”
According to organizer Guillermo Elenes of Tenants Together, “These bed bugs are a horrible problem for families. Landlords who callously let their tenants suffer and refuse to take action deserve to be sued.”
Tenants Together hosts monthly clinics in Concord where tenants can come to learn about their rights and get help. Tenants Together also runs a free renters’ rights hotline that can be reached at 1.888.495.8020.
Tenants from the Rosemont complex and other nearby properties will attend the press conference, along with community allies and the Rosemont tenants’ lawyer, Steve McDonald. The press conference begins at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday October 23, 2013 at Rosemont Apartments, 1431 Monument Blvd. in Concord, CA.
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