Indiana settles lawsuit with Anderson apartment owners for abandoning renters

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office has settled a 2024 lawsuit with the owners of two Anderson apartment complexes for abandoning tenants.  IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports.

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00;00;00;06 - 00;00;30;20 Thomas Ouellette Bingham Square and Madison Square apartments fell into dangerous levels of disrepair after management left without any warning in 2022, leaving no way for tenants to contact them. A settlement with the state says the owners still, quote, deny that they violated the law. As a part of that settlement, the owners will pay more than 45 thousand dollars to the AG's office, which will distribute it to 59 former residents like Troy Knight, a former Bingham resident who stayed on the property for years after management left. 00;00;30;27 - 00;00;37;11 Troy Nightborne It's not going to make it any better or any worse. It's just going to be like, oh, okay, I can pay bills a little easier. 00;00;37;13 - 00;00;51;03 Thomas Ouellette Eviction cases from the complexes in 2023 have been ordered to be dismissed and sealed, and the state is barring the owners from doing any business in Indiana for seven years. I'm Thomas Ouellette in Anderson.

Bingham Square and Madison Square apartments fell into dangerous levels of disrepair after management left without any warning in 2022, leaving no way for tenants to contact them.  A settlement with the state says the owners still “deny that they violated the law.”

As part of that settlement, the owners will pay $45,384.40 to the attorney general’s office, which will distribute it to 59 former residents.  Those residents include Troy Nightbourne, a former Bingham Square resident who stayed on the property for years after management left.

Nightbourne said his restitution check is estimated to be between $1,500 and $2000.  “It’s not gonna make it any better or any worse,” he said.  “It’s just gonna be like, oh, okay, I can pay bills a little easier.”

The owners purchased the Bingham Square property in 2019 and accepted a $900,000 bond from the Anderson Redevelopment Commission for property upgrades and maintenance that were never actually done.

Nightbourne said he feared for his safety constantly while staying at the abandoned Bingham Square.  As the complex fell into greater disrepair, he saw looters and drug users roaming the property.

Read More: Anderson cuts power to most tenants still living at Bingham Square apartments

The apartment owners also neglected to pay the complex’s utility bills. Between Bingham Square and Madison Square Apartments, they owed nearly $1 million to local utilities.

After the owners filed for bankruptcy in 2025, the city of Anderson lost the potential to see any return on that unpaid utility debt.

As part of the settlement with the state, eviction cases from the complexes in 2023 have been ordered to be dismissed and sealed.

And the state is barring the owners from doing any business in Indiana for seven years.  That ban includes owning or purchasing any multi-family property.

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer.  Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu