JXN Water and Tracewood Apartments continue to scrum in federal court. The company accuses the apartment complex of owing $910,000 in unpaid water bills since 2022. Tracewood disputes the bill and took it to the judge, the judge being U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate in this case.
The disagreement is rather simple. Tracewood says JXN Water has not provided it with proper bills showing the meter usage and calculations on the amount owed while JXN Water says the bills are correct and Tracewood needs to pay up.
Tracewood sued JXN Water in Hinds County Chancery Court to stop the company from turning off water service at the apartments. JXN Water removed the lawsuit to federal court.
JXN Water pulled no punches in an answer filed on August 20:
The Petition is barred by the doctrine of unclean hands. Plaintiff’s claimed hardship is the direct result of its own failure to pay for water and sewage services it received. Equity does not protect a party that has created the very harm it complains of.... Plaintiff failed to mitigate its alleged damages by not taking steps within is control to lessen or avoid the alleged harm, including but not limited to: (1) failing to make timely payment of undisputed charges despite knowledge of the outstanding balance; (2) failing to pursue established administrative or contractual remedies for resolving disputed charges; and, (3) continuing to accrue unpaid balances while seeking extraordinary relief from this Court rather than exercising ordinary business judgment to mitigate its alleged injury. Any alleged damages claimed by Plaintiff, to the extent they exist, were exacerbated by its own conduct.... Defendants deny the allegations of ¶ 11. To the extent Plaintiff did not receive any bills from JXN Water, as it claims, it was because of Plaintiff’s own failure: “. . .[W]e did not receive any water bills for the property we purchased until approximately 2.5 years later due to a system failure.”...
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1. For the past four years, Tracewood Apartments has intentionally and methodically stolen money from its tenants and services from JXN Water. Despite collecting water and sewage payments each month from its tenants’ rental payments, Tracewood Apartments has pocketed the money and refused to pay for its utilities. Tracewood Apartments has not only defrauded its tenants, but it has also jeopardized the financial viability of the functional water and sewer systems Jackson so desperately needs. Worse still, in facing the consequences of its charade, Tracewood Apartments chooses to burn through additional resources this City and JXN Water do not have by filing baseless litigation rather than paying its bill. The actions of Tracewood Apartments have jeopardized the welfare of its tenants, the functionality of the water and sewage systems themselves, and the well-being of every citizen of Jackson. 13. At the time ownership was transferred to Tracewood Apts 2021 LLC, the billing address changed from LLC SRC Tracewood Investments, 6300 Old Canton Road, Jackson, MS 39211-2454 to LLC SRC Tracewood Investments (“SRC Tracewood”), C/O RUM: 4867188, Post Office Box 5169, Oak Brook, IL 60522-5169.... 15. Also, at the time of the sale, there was a credit balance totaling $3,6077.77. 16. Bills for water and sewage services on all accounts were sent to LLC SRC Tracewood Investments, C/O RUM: 4867188, Post Office Box 5169, Oak Brook, IL 60522-5169 from January 2022 until May 2024. 17. Tracewood Apartments regularly paid its bills on all accounts throughout 2022. 18. Tracewood Apartments stopped paying its bills on all accounts on or about December 2022 with no change in billing address, while it continued to receive water and sewage services and to collect fees from its tenants to pay for said services. 19. After a 17-month period of not paying its bills, prompted only by a disconnection notice, Tracewood Apartments finally made a payment of $60,000.00 in May 2024. 20. From the time ownership transferred until on or about May 2024, Tracewood Apartments failed to transition the utility accounts from the prior owner’s name into its name, as required under the City’s Code of Ordinances... In February 2025, JXN Water sent another disconnection notice to Tracewood Apartments. In response, it submitted a single payment of $60,000.00. 27. In June 2025, when faced with yet another disconnection notice, Tracewood Apartments entered into a payment plan with JXN Water for its outstanding accounts, and it made an initial lump-sum payment of $60,000.00.... 28. The very next month, Tracewood Apartments failed to make the first installment payment on the plan, resulting in the removal of its accounts from the payment plan and the past due amounts on each outstanding account becoming immediately due.The counterclaim accuses Tracewood of breach of contract and unjust enrichment. The defendant/counterclaimant asks Judge Wingate to enter a judgement against Tracewood for $910,062 as well as interest and attorney's fees.
Judge Wingate held a hearing Thursday but did not resolve the dispute. He told the two sides to try to settle the case and scheduled a hearing for August 29.
9 comments:
This is the never ending story.
I agree 100% Tracewood Apts. Has committed fraud. No telling how many other Apartment buildings in Jackson are doing the same thing. And, let not forget landlords of rented houses are also not paying their tenants water bills.
"Y'all get together and settle this mess. I don't know what to do with it."
"Intentionally stolen money"...?
To steal is theft. Is there any such thing as UNintentional theft?
I agree with Jxn Water. They took the
tenants water money and spent it
instead of giving it to Jxn Water.
Why can't something be done when they didnt spend the money on the
water bill as intended?
I'm not sure Judge Wingate will do any
thing about Tracewood taking the water money and failing to pay Jxn
Water as it was intended.
Criminal charges filed asap & arrest for embezzlement !
Judge Wingate can and will sort this out, if the owner doesn't do whatever is required to work out a deal.
9:06, I agree "intentionally stolen" is redundant. But does your family appreciate it when you nitpick the way they speak?
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