Residents of new apartments in downtown Huntsville, just across from Big Spring Park,  experienced random fire alarms, flooding, and water shut-offs, a class action lawsuit against the property owner and manager alleges.

John Owens, the named plaintiff, leased an apartment at Eclipse Residences in August, according to the lawsuit filed this week, and has experienced false fire alarms four times since then, once in November, twice in January, and once this month.

“The fire alarm at the Apartments has continually triggered without clear cause, often during late-night hours, forcing residents to evacuate under distress,” the lawsuit said. “These false alarms, which persist for over thirty minutes, involving both sirens and strobe lights.”

The lawsuit says that plaintiffs want the terms of their lease to be modified. Now, the residents must pay seven months rent to break the lease without consequences, said the attorney, Eric Artrip.

“One to three months is more common, seven is exorbitant,” Artrip told AL.com today. “We’re asking the court to reform those leases to allow the tenants to break them if they want to, without the economic handcuffs in place which are keeping many of them there.”

David Margulies, a spokesperson for the property owner, City Center Residential and property management company, Willow Bridge, named in the lawsuit, declined to comment on this story.

“Neither of the parties have any comments on pending litigation,” Margulies said.

The residents also experienced five water shut-offs since September, two of which were for 12 hours, the lawsuit said. The January winter weather led to flooding on the first floor, which the lawsuit alleged was due to a faulty water supply system.

“The situation worsened during early January of 2024′s winter weather when the entire first floor of the apartments experienced severe flooding,” the lawsuit said. “This incident occurred because faucets in a vacant unit on the first floor were not left dripping, leading to frozen and burst pipes.”

The condition where the fire alarm goes off without a clear reason is dangerous, said Artrip, as residents could begin to ignore the warnings.

Owens, the only named plaintiff, wrote in a Feb. 4 work order that the fire alarm went off for much of that night, according to the lawsuit. “Fire alarms throughout the building went off from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. I have video of the absolute torture I underwent. I could not sleep in my own place of residence,” Owens wrote.

Reached by AL.com, Owens declined to comment further.

The apartments are just across Williams Avenue from Big Spring Park and alongside the AC Marriott. The new complex rents studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. The cost ranges from $1,130 to $2,205 per month, according to Homes.com.

The lawsuit was filed in Madison County Circuit Court on Wednesday. The lawsuit alleges that the property managers failed to rectify various issues with the property after notification.

The lawsuit also asks for compensation for cleaning, repair of property damage due to maintenance issues, and compensation for emotional distress “caused by the continual disruptions to quiet enjoyment and safety concerns associated with a personal residence.”