Woman says landlord wouldn't fix heating unit

CHARLESTON – A Kanawha County woman is suing over claims her landlord refused to repair the defective heating unit in her apartment.

Elizabeth Jane Henderson filed an amended lawsuit Sept. 23 in Kanawha Circuit Court against AU Management Inc., doing business as Clendenin School Apartments.

According to the complaint, Henderson leased an apartment on Koontz Avenue in Clendenin from the defendant beginning in May 2013, but later discovered the heating for her apartment was defective.

Henderson says the temperature in her apartment would only be heated to between 41 and 55 degrees, so neighbors attempted to help her by bringing her heated blankets and letting her shower in other units, and she suffered injuries such as bronchitis and may have suffered a stroke.

The complaint states Henderson repeatedly complained to the defendant but it refused to replace or repair the heater due to costs, but offered her the option of moving without penalty.

The defendant is accused of violating West Virginia Code in failing to make the unit habitable, and the complaint states this constituted elder abuse.

Henderson seeks punitive damages, costs and counsel fees.

She is represented by attorneys Michael T. Clifford and Richelle K. Garlow of Charleston.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 14-C-1503