Iowa Supreme Court Hear Bedbug Lawsuit Arguments

Iowa Supreme Court justices have been told that some apartment tenants’ experiences with bedbugs are too varied to let a lawsuit proceed as a class action.

The Des Moines Register says attorney Kevin Driscoll told the justices during oral arguments on Tuesday that “one tenant’s experience with bedbugs is not indicative of every tenant experience.”

The lawsuit was filed in March 2010 and certified as a class action on Nov. 11, 2011. Driscoll is appealing that certification for his client, which is the company that manages Elsie Mason Manor and Ligutti Towers, two low-income apartment buildings in downtown Des Moines.

The lawsuit alleges that managers knew about the infestation for more than two years but didn’t warn tenants or properly treat it until the lawsuit was filed.