A Denver jury has awarded a $1 million verdict to Early Jackson, a man experiencing homelessness who was allegedly assaulted by concierges at a luxury apartment building.
Early in 2022, Jackson was walking home from his construction job. At the time, home for Jackson was a Salvation Army shelter. He was one of more than 5,000 people in the Denver metro area experiencing homelessness at the time.
It was late and temperatures were below freezing. Jackson decided to knock on the door of Quincy Apartments, a luxury high rise apartment building, to warm up after seeing a fireplace in the lobby. The incident would end with concierges dragging him from the building, and one pointing a gun at Jackson’s head, the lawsuit alleges.
The jury decided on Nov. 21 to award the money to Jackson, finding that he had suffered negligence at the hands of the concierges and the company that employed them, NFC Amenity Management. The jury verdict also stated that Jackson sustained injuries, damages, and losses. They found that Kendall Robinson and Greg Landrum both acted “willfully or deliberately” to cause Jackson’s injuries.
The case was heard in Denver District Court, and the defendants can appeal the decision.
“I think this case is important because it highlights how society often mistreats and overlooks our most vulnerable populations and how injustices happen all the time and go unchecked,” Azra Taslimi, one of Jackson’s attorneys, said. “And the fact the jury returned a verdict in the way that they did, sends a message that this is not okay, and this is not who we are as a society.”
When Jackson approached the Quincy Apartments, two of the building’s 24-hour concierges let him in. But moments later, they changed their minds, the lawsuit alleged.
The two concierges on duty that night subsequently used physical force to drag Jackson out of the apartment building, the lawsuit alleges. According to Jackson’s attorneys, Jackson did nothing to provoke the concierges, and was never given a reasonable opportunity to leave.
“He didn't do anything wrong,” Taslimi said. “He has the right to ask if he can come inside and warm up, they could have said no.”
Robinson and Landrum were not criminally charged by police. They did not respond to a request for comment.
During the confrontation, Robinson pulled out a handgun and pointed it to Jackson’s head. According to the lawsuit, Robinson did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
Surveillance video was deleted less than a week after the assault. It is still unclear who destroyed the footage. Jackson’s attorney says the video automatically overwrites itself after 30 to 33 days. This time it occurred within a week of the incident.
But the defense argued that the concierges and NFC Amenity Management were not responsible for the lost footage — arguing that even if the footage was recovered, it wouldn’t have made a significant difference in the case as the video was low quality.
Jackson’s attorneys were able to obtain footage off of a Denver Police Department body camera. According to Taslimi, the footage played an instrumental role in the lawsuit.
“We were able to find a video and we were able to then use that to get justice for Mr. Jackson,” Taslimi said.
But the video does not show what happened outside of the apartment building. Jackson’s attorneys alleged that after dragging Jackson outside, one of the concierges then kicked him.
Robinson and Landrum were employed by the apartment’s third-party concierge service, NCF Amenity Management. And according to Taslimi, while both men are no longer employed by the concierge service, it took months, if not years for the management company to respond appropriately.
“NFC was responsible because after this incident happened, NFC promoted them, gave them raises, did not fire them, did not train them, did not spot check to make sure that Robinson wasn't continuing to bring a gun to work — a concealed carry that he didn't even have a permit for,” Taslimi told Denverite.
NCF Amenity Management and the property managers of Quincy Apartments did not respond to Denverite’s request to comment.
According to Taslimi, Jackson was injured badly. He suffered spinal injuries and had surgeries — including having screws put in his neck — as a result of the assault.
“His entire life has changed as a result of what happened to him, as a result of what these defendants did to him,” Taslimi said. “And again, I think that that is reflected in the verdict. The jury recognized that he will never have his life back as it was before the incident.”
