A Farmington Hills woman has filed a lawsuit against her apartment complex and management company, alleging years of neglect and safety failures that ultimately led to the devastating fire that left her homeless. Theresa Stott, who was living at Botsford Place Terrace Apartments with her two daughters, claims that despite repeated requests for maintenance and repairs, management ignored her concerns and failed to address serious issues with the building's electrical system.
The fire broke out on April 19, just one day before Easter, when Stott returned home from shopping to find smoke pouring out of the ceiling vent in her bathroom. She immediately called 911 and alerted her neighbors, but allegedly, the smoke detectors were not functioning properly, as Stott claims to have video evidence that shows no alarms sounded during the fire.
Stott disputes the official account of the fire, which says that firefighters responded quickly and successfully rescued all residents, including herself and her daughters. However, Stott maintains that the fire was a preventable tragedy caused by years of neglect and poor maintenance.
According to the lawsuit, Stott had been reporting issues with the building's electrical system for months before the fire, but management ignored her complaints. The court documents also reveal that there were numerous reports of structural issues, safety concerns, and property neglect at the complex since 2016, including expired permits, incomplete repairs, and poor management.
The lawsuit alleges that Stott faced retaliation from management after repeatedly complaining about the building's conditions and attempting to obtain fire records. Management allegedly denied her requests for a transfer to a different unit and failed to provide adequate support during the displacement period following the fire.
Stott claims that she lost everything in the fire, including most of her possessions, and has struggled to secure stable housing since then. She is pursuing the case pro se, without an attorney, citing feelings of bullying and persecution from management and the court system.
The fire destroyed most of Stott's belongings, but firefighters did their best to salvage what they could. The cause of the fire remains undetermined, but it appears to have started in a concealed space between the first and second floors.
Stott has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help her and her daughters rebuild their lives. As for the management company and owners, none returned messages for comment on the allegations made against them.
The fire broke out on April 19, just one day before Easter, when Stott returned home from shopping to find smoke pouring out of the ceiling vent in her bathroom. She immediately called 911 and alerted her neighbors, but allegedly, the smoke detectors were not functioning properly, as Stott claims to have video evidence that shows no alarms sounded during the fire.
Stott disputes the official account of the fire, which says that firefighters responded quickly and successfully rescued all residents, including herself and her daughters. However, Stott maintains that the fire was a preventable tragedy caused by years of neglect and poor maintenance.
According to the lawsuit, Stott had been reporting issues with the building's electrical system for months before the fire, but management ignored her complaints. The court documents also reveal that there were numerous reports of structural issues, safety concerns, and property neglect at the complex since 2016, including expired permits, incomplete repairs, and poor management.
The lawsuit alleges that Stott faced retaliation from management after repeatedly complaining about the building's conditions and attempting to obtain fire records. Management allegedly denied her requests for a transfer to a different unit and failed to provide adequate support during the displacement period following the fire.
Stott claims that she lost everything in the fire, including most of her possessions, and has struggled to secure stable housing since then. She is pursuing the case pro se, without an attorney, citing feelings of bullying and persecution from management and the court system.
The fire destroyed most of Stott's belongings, but firefighters did their best to salvage what they could. The cause of the fire remains undetermined, but it appears to have started in a concealed space between the first and second floors.
Stott has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help her and her daughters rebuild their lives. As for the management company and owners, none returned messages for comment on the allegations made against them.
This is so sad what happened to Theresa Stott and her girls 
She deserves justice for all the neglect and safety issues they ignored 
And it's not right that she's going through this trauma alone, struggling to rebuild their lives without an attorney 
Hope she can get some help from her GoFundMe campaign 
! So like this lady Theresa Stott files a lawsuit against the management cos & her complex bcos of all the neglect & safety fails that led to the devastating fire that left her homeless 
. She's talking years of complaints about electrical issues & structural problems, but no one listened 
. Now she's fighting for justice herself, pro se, and it's really sad 
this is just another example of how neglect & poor management can lead to devastating consequences 
. it's unacceptable that theresa stott was ignored for months, and now she's struggling to rebuild her life with nothing but the clothes on her back 
. what really gets me is how many reports of structural issues & safety concerns went unaddressed since 2016... it's like they were playing with fire (pun intended) and didn't care about the consequences 
.
the fact that management ignored her concerns and retaliated against her is just crazy 
The fact that the court documents show years of neglect and poor maintenance is just infuriating.
. And the fact that she thinks she's being retaliated against by management is just awful 
. It's just not right that one person has to go through all this because of someone else's mistakes 
. I mean, can you believe that a woman had to go through all that stress and trauma because of neglectful management? It's like, what even is the point of having a building code if people are just gonna ignore it? 
. As a homeowner myself (well, sorta 
), it's scary to think about what could've happened if someone like me had been in her shoes. It just highlights how important it is for us to speak up when we see something wrong.
meanwhile, she loses everything in the fire and struggles to find a new place to live. It's heartbreaking to think about her daughters having to go through this too 
. I'm so behind this woman! GoFundMe campaign is a great idea btw 
. Management needs to be held accountable for their actions 
.
.
. Years of neglect and safety failures lead to a fire that left her homeless 
, no one deserves that kind of pain 
. It's also really disturbing that she's facing retaliation from management after speaking out about the issues 
, it's like they're trying to silence her 
Can you believe some apartment complex just ignores all these safety issues and neglect complaints? It's like they're playing Russian roulette with people's lives! Theresa Stott was already dealing with the trauma of being a single mom, and then she gets hit with a devastating fire that leaves her homeless. And the worst part is, management allegedly retaliated against her for speaking up about the problems. That's just disgusting!