Notorious St. Louis Landlord Sued Over Dutchtown Ceiling Collapse

By Andrea Arnold On Mar 16, 2024

A St. Louis couple is suing a notorious local slumlord after the ceiling of the Dutchtown duplex they rented from him collapsed on them as they slept.

According to Faustin Nshimiyimana and Grace Umutoni’s lawsuit, they began renting the duplex at the intersection of Gustine Avenue and Alberta Street from Cuong Quang Tran in March 2023. Their daughter was born a few months later.

Courtesy Matthew Ndonwi

A newborn was in the room when the ceiling collapsed.

One night in August, the ceiling fell on the family as they slept in the bedroom. Their daughter was only two weeks old at the time and in the room with them.

Photos from the scene show the ceiling strewn about the room below and the bare beams above. A light fixture dangles perilously in the space between. The couple’s attorney, Matthew Ndonwi, says that Umutoni rolled over on her newborn daughter to protect her from the collapse.

The couple says in their suit they have suffered both mental and physical ailments from the incident. They both moved to the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo, with Umutoni immigrating in 2016 and Nshimiyimana joining a few years later. Their suit against Tran is for damages, alleging negligence and that Tran concealed the defective ceiling from them when they initially leased the property from him.

Tran owns numerous split family flats and apartment buildings in south city and has been a subject of a slew of building code violations and complaints made to the Citizen Service Bureau. An RFT investigation in February found units in Trans’ buildings with damaged walls and ceilings, defective plumbing and mold. At the time, Tran had numerous warrants for his arrest for failing to maintain his rental properties. However, municipal court records indicate those warrants have since been resolved.

Ndonwi says that he tried to work outside the court system to resolve things for Umutoni and Nshimiyimana with Tran, but last month Tran began the process of evicting the couple. They moved elsewhere this month.

Still, the horror of waking to their home falling on them lingers for Umuton.

“She doesn’t close her eyes without thinking something like that will happen again,” Ndonwi says.