First Trial Over Toxic Military Housing Is Set for June 5 in San Antonio

Law Offices of James R. Moriarty: Military families remain troubled by court ruling that defendant Hunt Military Communities can force continued payment of rent on uninhabitable properties

SAN ANTONIO, May 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The first trial in federal-court litigation brought by military families alleging they were sickened by and forced to live in toxic mold- and pest-infested base housing at JBSA-Randolph Air Force Base and Laughlin Air Force Base is set to begin on June 5 in San Antonio, according to the Law Offices of James R. Moriarty and co-counsel.

James R. Moriarty of the military families' legal team said, "This litigation is urgent for the affected military families in the case, but also for thousands of other servicemembers and their families around the nation that live in substandard privatized military housing controlled by a cartel of unaccountable companies."

The case is "Michael J. Daniels and Barbara High-Daniels, et al., v. AETC II Privatized Housing, LLC, et al.," No. 5:19-cv-01280 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division. The court ruled that the cases will be tried on a family-by-family basis.

The defendants in the case are AETC II Privatized Housing, LLC, AETC II Property Managers, LLC, and Hunt ELP, Ltd., doing business as Hunt Military Communities.

As the first case approaches trial, a controversial ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard B. Farrer has left all of the military family tenants in the case obligated to continue paying rent even if their residences are so damaged they cannot be occupied.

The Federal Enclave Doctrine, as interpreted by Judge Farrer, means that the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) offers no legal protections for servicemembers and their families against landlords such as Hunt. The court concluded that servicemembers can only assert a claim that Hunt breached leases on the housing.

Moriarty said, "According to this court, neither our service members, nor their spouses and children, have any additional rights under the housing contract and are owed no duties by Hunt. Under this interpretation of the law, we have families that are profoundly impacted from both health and financial perspectives with almost nowhere to go for help."

Hunt's contention, which Judge Farrer has agreed with, is based on the interpretation of Texas law from the 1940s and 1950s. This interpretation claims that landlords have no inherent duty to repair property unless specified in the lease. Hunt argues that the lease agreement does not extend rights to non-signatories such as family members. Hunt's only obligation, according to the lease, is to make a "diligent effort to repair or remedy the condition" once it has been brought to their attention by the servicemember.

Moriarty added, "Our military must do better for our servicemembers and their families. They should not be forced to live in dangerous housing. This trial and our fight for these military families is about justice and holding companies like Hunt accountable – even if the military refuses to do so."

CONTACT: James R. Moriarty, The Law Offices of James R. Moriarty, [email protected], 713.857.1212.

SOURCE Law Offices of James R. Moriarty