The Dominium Management lawsuit is a certified Minnesota class action accusing one of the country’s largest affordable housing developers of charging low-income tenants monthly fees for underground parking at buildings where the parking construction was already financed by federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Filed in 2021 as Illiff et al. v. Dominium Management Services, LLC et al. and certified as a class action in September 2023, the case covers roughly 3,000 current and former tenants at 24 Minnesota properties.1Star Tribune. Hennepin County Judge Grants Class-Action Status to Tenants in Case Against Dominium
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program lets developers claim credits based on construction costs, including amenities like parking garages. In return, developers generally cannot charge tenants separately for amenities the credits already paid for.
The complaint alleges Dominium underreported its parking construction costs to state and local housing agencies, secured tax credits covering about 90 percent of those costs, and then charged tenants monthly parking fees anyway. At The Legends at Silver Lake Village in St. Anthony, tenants paid $80 per month for reserved underground spots.1Star Tribune. Hennepin County Judge Grants Class-Action Status to Tenants in Case Against Dominium Many of the affected buildings serve seniors, and heated underground parking is a significant selling point through Minnesota winters.2FindLaw. Iliff v. Dominium Management Services LLC
The suit brings three claims under Minnesota law: violations of the Minnesota Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act, violations of the Minnesota Deceptive Trade Practices Act for allegedly deceptive lease agreements, and unjust enrichment.2FindLaw. Iliff v. Dominium Management Services LLC The named plaintiffs are eight tenants and HOME Line, a Bloomington-based tenant advocacy nonprofit.
Which Tenants and Properties Are Covered
On September 11, 2023, Hennepin County District Court Judge Thomas Conley certified the class. It potentially includes more than 3,000 current and former tenants who paid for underground parking at 24 Minnesota Dominium properties built with tax credit financing.1Star Tribune. Hennepin County Judge Grants Class-Action Status to Tenants in Case Against Dominium
Buildings identified in the complaint sit in St. Anthony, Coon Rapids, St. Paul, Crystal, Cottage Grove, Woodbury, Minneapolis, Champlin, Columbia Heights, Lexington, Blaine, Spring Lake Park, Minnetonka, and St. Cloud.3ClassAction.org. Double-Dipping Low-Income Housing Developer Pocketed Tax Credits Earmarked for Parking Costs, Class Action Alleges Named properties include The Legends at Silver Lake Village, River North, The Cambric, The Cavanagh, The Legends of Cottage Grove, The Legends of Woodbury, 1500 Nicollet, A-Mill Artist Lofts, The Legends at Berry, Millberry Apartments, Union Flats, Legends of Champlin, and Grand Central Flats/Lofts. The suit names Dominium Management Services along with 57 related entities, describing them as a single enterprise operated through developer LLCs, ownership partnerships, and general partner entities that share a headquarters.4ClassAction.org. Illiff et al. v. Dominium Management Services LLC et al. – Complaint
University of Minnesota law professor Allan Erbsen, quoted after certification, said class status does not decide the merits. The ruling means the claims are “sufficiently similar that they should be able to litigate them as a class rather than individually.”5University of Minnesota Law School. Prof. Allan Erbsen Quoted in Star Tribune About Class-Action Suit Against Dominium
Dominium’s Response
Dominium has contested the allegations. Company spokesperson Paula Prahl said Dominium intended to appeal the class certification. Prahl also said free outdoor parking is available at the properties, and that if the tenants prevail, the company would stop offering reserved underground parking.1Star Tribune. Hennepin County Judge Grants Class-Action Status to Tenants in Case Against Dominium
Earlier in the case, Dominium removed the suit from Hennepin County District Court to U.S. District Court in March 2021, arguing the claims required interpretation of the federal tax credit program. On September 14, 2021, the federal court remanded the case, finding that the parties did not actually dispute the meaning of federal law and that the case was fundamentally a state-law consumer fraud dispute.2FindLaw. Iliff v. Dominium Management Services LLC
A Related Settlement Already Paid Out
A separate case against a Dominium-related entity has already produced money for tenants. In Linda Cobb Thompson v. St. Anthony Leased Housing Associates II, LP, et al., the University of Minnesota Law School’s Consumer Protection Clinic and the Housing Justice Center secured a settlement of nearly $204,000 for low-income senior tenants over excessive rent. More than $166,000 went directly to tenants as refunds, $28,000 was allocated to CommonBond and Agate Housing and Services, and over $8,000 was set aside for the estates of three deceased class members.6University of Minnesota Law School. Consumer Protection Clinic Helps Low-Income Seniors Gain Settlement for Excessive Rent
Professor Prentiss Cox, who supervised the clinic, described the outcome as “100% reimbursement” for the affected tenants. The settlement followed a 2022 ruling at the Minnesota Supreme Court. St. Anthony Leased Housing Associates II, LP is one of the Dominium-related entities also named in the parking fee class action.6University of Minnesota Law School. Consumer Protection Clinic Helps Low-Income Seniors Gain Settlement for Excessive Rent That settlement resolved only the Cobb Thompson excessive-rent claims; it does not release the parking fee claims in the Illiff class action, which remain pending.