Trinity Property Consultants, an Irvine, California-based multifamily property manager, is a named defendant in a Trinity Property Consultants lawsuit filed by the Maryland Attorney General over algorithmic rent-fixing, and it has faced several other cases in recent years: a wrongful death suit tied to a fatal 2023 apartment fire in Silver Spring, a tenant retaliation suit in Wheaton, an Illinois biometric privacy class action brought by an employee, and an employment civil rights case in federal court in Chicago. Two older appellate decisions, one in Georgia and one in Alabama, also involve the company. Founded in 1999, Trinity operates apartment communities under brands including Arrive Luxury Communities, ReNew Apartment Communities, and Social Student Spaces.1Trinity Property Consultants. Trinity Property Consultants
Maryland Antitrust Case Over RealPage Pricing Software
On June 8, 2026, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown added Trinity Property Consultants LLC as a defendant in the state’s antitrust suit against RealPage Inc. and several large residential landlords. The case is pending in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. The state alleges Trinity and its co-defendants used RealPage’s centralized revenue management software to share competitively sensitive data and coordinate rental pricing at more than 30 apartment buildings across Baltimore City and six surrounding counties, raising rents by as much as $130 per month for affected tenants and costing Maryland renters millions in total.2Office of the Attorney General of Maryland. Attorney General Brown Names Four Additional Defendants to RealPage and Residential Landlords Lawsuit
Brown filed the original complaint in January 2025 against RealPage and six landlord defendants — Morgan Properties Management Company, Bozzuto Management Company, Greystar Management Services, AvalonBay Communities, UDR, and Highmark Residential — under the Maryland Antitrust Act. The attorney general called the arrangement “classic price fixing.”3The Daily Record. Classic Price Fixing: MD Attorney General Says Big Landlords Collude With Tech Company to Set Rent Prices
Where the Broader RealPage Litigation Stands
Maryland’s suit sits alongside two much larger federal proceedings. A consolidated multidistrict litigation, In re RealPage Inc. Rental Software Antitrust Litigation, has been moving through the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee since April 2023 and survived a motion to dismiss in December 2023. By May 2026, settlements in the MDL had reached roughly $360 million across two batches.4Multifamily Dive. RealPage Settlement Algorithmic Pricing The U.S. Department of Justice filed its own antitrust action against RealPage in August 2024 and amended it in January 2025 to add landlord defendants; in November 2025 the DOJ reached a proposed settlement with RealPage that carried no financial penalty but restricted the company’s use of competitor data and required a compliance monitor for at least three years.5Federal Register. United States et al. v. RealPage, Inc., et al. – Response to Public Comments RealPage has denied wrongdoing throughout.
Wrongful Death Suit Over the Arrive Silver Spring Fire
On February 18, 2023, a three-alarm fire broke out on the seventh floor of Arrive Silver Spring, a high-rise apartment building at 8750 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, Maryland. Melanie Diaz, a 25-year-old resident, died of smoke inhalation while trying to evacuate. At least 15 others were injured, more than 400 residents were displaced, and fire officials condemned at least 89 units.6Source of the Spring. 89 Units Condemned Following Fire at Arrive Silver Spring Apartment Complex Investigators later closed the case with the cause classified as “undetermined,” noting a possible electrical malfunction.7NBC Washington. Investigation Into Fatal Silver Spring High-Rise Fire Inconclusive
On September 12, 2024, Diaz’s parents, Cesar Linares and Zuleika Ojeda, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Maryland against Trinity Property Consultants LLC and the building’s owner, CP4 Silver Spring. The suit sought $2.3 million, described as the maximum allowed under the law, plus economic damages for loss of income. It alleged the defendants were negligent in failing to maintain smoke detectors, fire alarms, fire doors, and electrical systems, and in failing to adequately alert residents.8Bethesda Magazine. Family of Woman Killed in Fire at Arrive Silver Spring Apartment Complex Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The building predated Maryland’s 1974 sprinkler mandate for new apartment buildings and had no in-unit sprinklers. According to the complaint, there was no functioning smoke alarm in the apartment where the fire started, existing smoke detectors were improperly placed near windows and of the wrong type under applicable regulations, and the rooftop hatch on the evacuation stairwell had been sealed shut to accommodate a rooftop pool. Residents had also previously reported outlets that shocked tenants and appliances that tripped breakers.9Multifamily Dive. Family of Woman Killed in Maryland Apartment Fire Sues Property Manager Trinity stated at the time that the building was up to code on the day of the fire. The case later reached a private, undisclosed resolution.10The Daily Record. Maryland Fire Safety Reforms – Melanie Diaz
In the weeks after the fire, displaced residents reported that Trinity would not allow them to retrieve personal belongings or move out unless they signed a waiver releasing the building’s owners and property managers from “any and all claims, known and unknown.” One resident whose unit was not significantly damaged said management conditioned scheduling a move-out on signing the waiver.11WTOP. Victims of MD Apartment Fire Say They Aren’t Being Given Access to Belongings Unless They Give Up the Right to Sue
Tenant Retaliation Suit at Arrive Wheaton
In May 2024, the Montgomery County Renters Alliance filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Elzie Walker, a six-year resident of the 500-unit Arrive Wheaton complex in Wheaton, Maryland. The complaint named FPA/WC Wheaton Station, Trinity Property Consultants, and Red Tail Residential as defendants and sought at least $75,000 in damages.12MyMCMedia. Renters Alliance Sues Wheaton Apartments for Retaliatory Evictions
Walker, a cofounder of the Arrive Wheaton Tenants Association, alleged management retaliated against him for organizing. According to the complaint, when he tried to form a tenant association in September 2023, management removed his flyers and denied him access to common meeting spaces. The suit also alleged that management failed to complete paperwork for his Section 8 subsidy and then filed a meritless failure-to-pay-rent case against him. It further claimed a pattern of disparate treatment: since July 2023, the defendants had obtained eviction judgments against 25 percent of subsidized tenants compared with 1 percent of non-subsidized tenants.13WUSA9. Walker v. FPA/WC Wheaton Station LLC – Complaint The federal case was terminated on November 26, 2024.14CourtListener. Walker v. FPA/WC Wheaton Station LLC
Illinois Employee Biometric Privacy Class Action
Trinity faces a proposed class action in federal court alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. The plaintiff, Isidro Calonia, claims Trinity and payroll services provider Pacific Personnel Services Inc. collected and stored employee fingerprints without prior written consent and failed to publish a required data retention and destruction schedule. The defendants argued that all employees had signed the company’s biometrics policy, but a federal judge refused to dismiss the case, ruling that whether employees actually signed the policy is a question for summary judgment.15Bloomberg Law. Trinity Property Consultants Faces Employee Biometrics Lawsuit
Employment Civil Rights Case in Chicago
In February 2025, Sherry King filed a civil rights employment lawsuit against Trinity in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The case, King v. Trinity Property Consultants, LLC (1:25-cv-01887), was brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and is classified as a civil rights employment matter. Judge Charles P. Kocoras was assigned to the case, and Trinity is represented by Littler Mendelson.16Law360. King v. Trinity Property Consultants, LLC Publicly available detail on the specific allegations is limited.
Earlier Appellate Rulings Involving Trinity
Two older appellate decisions round out Trinity’s recent litigation history. In Trinity Property Consultants LLC v. Caleb Blankemeyer, a Georgia Court of Appeals decision issued in October 2023, Trinity was found in willful criminal contempt for failing to comply with a settlement and a subsequent court order. The underlying dispute began when tenants Caleb and Courtney Blankemeyer sued over flood damage in their apartment. The parties settled in May 2022, with Trinity agreeing to remove negative credit reports about the Blankemeyers within 10 days. Trinity did not do so and then failed to comply with a court order enforcing the agreement. The trial court imposed a $52,000 fine and $1,930 in attorney fees. On appeal, Trinity argued that compliance was impossible because it relied on third-party credit agencies, but the appellate court held that Trinity could be held in contempt for “wilfully creating the impossibility by accepting an obligation it knew it would be unable to fulfill.”17Justia. Trinity Property Consultants LLC v. Caleb Blankemeyer, A23A0865
In Alabama, Trinity was the successful petitioner in Ex parte Trinity Property Consultants, LLC, 308 So. 3d 36. Trinity had filed an eviction and unlawful-detainer action against tenant Brittony Mays in Shelby County, and the district court entered a default judgment after Mays was served by posting and mailing, meaning a process server posted the summons on her door and mailed a copy after knocking once and getting no response. Mays challenged the judgment as void, arguing a single knock did not meet the “reasonable effort” at personal service required by Alabama law. The Court of Civil Appeals initially agreed with Mays, but the Alabama Supreme Court reversed, ruling that a single knock satisfies the “reasonable effort” requirement absent extraordinary circumstances. On remand, the Court of Civil Appeals affirmed dismissal of Mays’s challenge.18FindLaw. Ex Parte Trinity Property Consultants, LLC19FindLaw. Trinity Property Consultants LLC v. Brittony Mays