A Durham mother is taking the owners of her apartment complex to court after her 39-year-old son collapsed and died inside the Ashton Place laundry room, where tenants say a faulty door trapped people inside and cut them off from help. The wrongful-death complaint, filed this month, accuses the developer and property manager of poor maintenance and delayed emergency care, and it has become a new flashpoint in residents’ long-running fight over building repairs.
Inside the wrongful-death lawsuit
According to The News & Observer, the suit was filed in Durham County Superior Court on June 3 by Debra Tanner Davies and names DHIC Inc., Ashton Place Housing LLC, Ashton Place Managing Member LLC and Community Management Corp. as defendants. The complaint says the laundry room "lacked safe and operable means of egress" and alleges that lifesaving medical intervention was materially delayed because people inside could not get out. It seeks damages for wrongful death, negligence and gross negligence on behalf of Jason Lamonte Pulliam’s estate.
Video footage and residents’ accounts
A police body-camera video reviewed by reporters and described in the complaint shows people inside the laundry room were involuntarily trapped and unable to exit, according to NC Newsline. Tenants told investigators that Pulliam entered the room appearing distressed and that at least one resident pounded on the door and called for help but could not get anyone’s attention. The lawsuit says other residents later became stuck as they tried to enter, and that one of them ultimately called 911.
The November night, minute by minute
The complaint lays out a detailed timeline that investigators and court filings summarized: Pulliam entered the laundry room on Nov. 25, 2024. Police say Corporal Zack Starritt reached him and began CPR around 9:49 p.m. Emergency responders later pronounced him dead at 10:43 p.m., and the official cause of death listed in court papers was cardiomyopathy, according to The News & Observer. The suit argues that if the door had been operable or help summoned earlier, medical care "could have been provided sooner," quoting directly from the complaint.
Who is named in the suit
The lawsuit targets Downtown Home Improvement Corporation Inc. (DHIC), Ashton Place Housing LLC, Ashton Place Managing Members LLC and Community Management Corp. as defendants, and notes that the plaintiffs are represented by the Raleigh firm Howard Stallings, according to reporting by IndyWeek. DHIC has previously said it does not believe the property was responsible for Pulliam’s death, and the developer says it is aware of the lawsuit and has expressed sorrow for the family’s loss.
Tenants turn up the heat
Residents at Ashton Place and the neighboring Willard Street apartments organized tenant unions in March, arguing that repeated maintenance problems and slow repairs have put safety at risk, NC Newsline reported. Tenants formed Ashton Seniors in Action with help from the N.C. Tenants Union and have pushed for formal recognition and regular meetings with ownership to hash out repair issues. Organizers say the laundry-room door was a long-standing problem that residents had flagged well before the fatal night.
What the case seeks and what comes next
The complaint asks for compensatory damages for wrongful death and for the emotional injuries suffered by Pulliam’s mother, and it accuses the defendants of negligence and gross negligence, according to IndyWeek. It is not yet clear when the case will be scheduled for a hearing, and attorneys for the defendants say they are still reviewing the filing. The lawsuit adds a legal front to tenants’ broader campaign for repairs and formal recognition of their organizing efforts.
The complaint remains pending in Durham County Superior Court and no trial dates have been set. For now, residents say the filing has only increased the pressure on building ownership to address repair backlogs and safety concerns inside the complex.
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