Owner of senior apartments must explain why he hasn’t repaired an on-site elevator, judge says
A judge has ordered the owner of a Montrose senior apartment complex to personally appear in court to explain why it appears he hasn’t fulfilled his promise to repair a non-functional elevator at the complex by the end of this month.
Owner Elias Shokiran, who was not at the most recent pretrial hearing on Aug. 21, is due back at the Glendale Courthouse on Sept. 25, according to David Ligtenberg, a Glendale deputy city attorney.
Judge Beverly Bourne “seemed to indicate that she wanted hear directly from [Shokrian], rather than his attorney, what the state of the repairs were,” at the Honolulu Manor Senior Apartments, Ligtenberg said.
Thomas Sands, who is representing Shokiran, declined to comment.
Shokrian has pleaded not guilty to the criminal misdemeanor lawsuit brought by the city against him over the complex’s elevator problems.
When Glendale city inspectors visited the complex at 2500 Honolulu Ave. on Aug. 19, the elevator — one of two on the premises — was not functioning at all and it did not look like any work had been or was being done on it, Ligtenberg said.
That elevator has been down since last October. When the second elevator broke down just before Memorial Day, some of the 85 senior residents at the complex were stranded in their second- and third-floor apartments for the nearly two weeks it took the owner to get it running again.
At the end of May, the city of Glendale slapped Shokrian and the partnership that owns the property with a lawsuit for being out of compliance with the city’s code.
To be in compliance, Shokrian must repair both elevators, Assistant City Atty. Yvette Neukian said in June when she was prosecuting the case.
While the one functioning elevator is being used by residents, it still needs additional repairs, Ligtenberg said. It is jerky and does not stop level with the ground when it reaches a floor, he added.
A separate civil case alleging elder abuse, age discrimination and negligence has been filed by 19 residents in the complex against Shokrian, according to their attorney, Raymond Zakari.
Originally filed on May 31, the suit was amended later to include more residents. Shokrian has until Sept. 3 to respond, Zakari said.
If found guilty of the misdemeanor charge brought by the city, Shokrian could face a maximum of six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine, although the maximum penalty is unlikely, Neukian said.