ATLANTA — On a chilly, rainy day, the stench of burning still lingers in the air 11 days after a fire broke out at the Reserve at Lavista Walk Apartments. The charred remains of the apartments remain blocked off from traffic, and residents like Billie Jo Konze remain blocked from getting their belongings.
“I just want to be able to get in and get the things that are sentimental to me that I can’t replace. I have things from my grandmother, who passed away, in there," Konze said. "We’re being told right now we can’t go in the building without signing a waiver that gives us signing away all the rights to sue the owners for the negligence and issues that have been happening. They are basically holding our property hostage right now.”
Attorney Scott Campbell said the waiver Konze was referring to protects the owners of the apartment complex should residents risk going inside a burned building or any other part of the complex.
"There's going to be potential trip hazards, sharp objects, slip hazards," Campbell said. "There could be a variety of different hazards folks might encounter. If the waiver is limited to releasing claims that arise from the actual retrieval of the belongings, it's something that could be reasonable in that circumstance."
On Monday, residents said the waiver would prevent them from suing over claims negligence led to the fire, but Campbell believes the waiver does not, in fact, stop the signers from suing the apartment management or the owners. He said the waiver would only apply to residents being able to grab what belongs to them.
“Sometimes, there are waivers seeking a global release of any and all claims that could be brought against them for any and all negligence, be it related to the start of the fire or failure to prevent the fire," Campbell said. "Instead, they’re limiting the waiver to claims that may arise from injury from the retrieval of their belongings."
Campbell explained Georgia law generally requires a premises owner to act reasonably to anticipate and prevent those types of hazards.
"But here, where they know those hazards exist and they’re somewhat limited in their ability to address and minimize those hazards, it’s understandable they want folks to say, 'Look, you understand you’re going into an area that has hazards-- we haven’t addressed and you’re releasing us from liability from those hazards for the specific purpose of allowing you access to retrieve your belongings,'” Campbell added.
Amid the confusion, tension and turmoil, Campbell recommended getting renters insurance to be able to recover the value of lost belongings. Resident Max Korn just wants to see his belongings again.
“I think, they were hoping people would just sign it and not read it and have less to deal with later," Korn said. "But they need to face accountability for what they’re doing because it’s awful. People with their family, their lives, their valuables. There are people with ashes of loved ones in there. We're afraid that's all going to get demolished, that they're not going to let us in until we sign away our rights. And eventually, we're just not going to get our stuff ever. That's the big fear, I think."
11Alive has tried multiple times to reach out to the owners of the apartment complex to get a response to the claims made by residents and a lawsuit recently filed by a group of residents. But the owners have not responded.
