COLUMBIA, S.C. — One of the lawsuits over the evacuation of the former Allen Benedict Court apartments now has a court date.
On Tuesday, Oct. 3, Judge Jocelyn Newman said in Richland County Court that the lawsuit brought by defendants Tammy Basinger and Khaylis Scott against the Housing Authority of the City of Columbia will be heard in January 2024. That date will mark five years since gas leaks caused the deaths of two men and the evacuation of the Allen Benedict Court apartment complex.
On January 17, 2019, there were multiple gas leaks reported at the public housing site and two residents -- Calvin Witherspoon, 61, and Derrick Roper, 30 -- died from carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from those leaks. Because of the gas leaks and other code violations, 411 residents were displaced from their homes at Allen Benedict Court the next day.
Two of those residents, Deborah Hill and Benjamin Hill, filed suit on February 7, 2019, claiming negligence by the Columbia Housing Authority (CHA). Their lawyer tried to turn their case into a class action lawsuit with more than 100 other tenants, but a judge denied that effort earlier this year. The ruling meant that former tenants must file individual claims against CHA. The lawsuit moving forward in 2024 was brought by new plaintiffs in the case, Basinger and Scott.
The attorney said he's still trying to see if he can bring those other tenants' individual suits against the Housing Authority.
On November 27, 2019, Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson found 'no probable cause' to bring criminal charges against CHA.
In the months following the deaths of Witherspoon and Roper and the evacuation of Allen Benedict Court, CHA was cited for more than 860 code violations in 22 different categories by Columbia Police's Code Enforcement Division. The total amount of the fines was just under $11,000. In February 2020, representatives from CHA were in City of Columbia's municipal court to plead guilty to the inspection violations and paid the fines.
Allen Benedict Court was demolished in the summer of 2020 and there are plans to rebuild another affordable housing complex on that site, bordered by Harden, Read, Oak, and Laurel streets in Columbia.