Iowa Supreme Court to Hear Bedbug Arguments

Sue Rogers, left, has bite marks next to her ear from bedbugs that have infested her apartment at Elsie Mason Manor. Dusty Donaldson, right, has bedbug bites all over his arms and legs, in Des Moines, Iowa. A class-action lawsuit filed this week in Polk County District Court alleges that more than 250 people have suffered "unconscionable and substandard living conditions" at Ligutti Tower and Elsie Mason Manor and that management of the apartment buildings has responded with only minimal efforts to kill the bugs. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Arturo Fernandez)

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By Rachel Begle

Story Created: Feb 20, 2013 at 7:10 AM CDT

Story Updated: Feb 20, 2013 at 7:10 AM CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa Supreme Court justices have been told that some apartment tenants' experiences with bedbugs are too varied to let a lawsuit proceed as a class action.

The Des Moines Register says attorney Kevin Driscoll told the justices during oral arguments on Tuesday that "one tenant's experience with bedbugs is not indicative of every tenant experience."

The lawsuit was filed in March 2010 and certified as a class action on Nov. 11, 2011. Driscoll is appealing that certification for his client, which is the company that manages Elsie Mason Manor and Ligutti Towers, two low-income apartment buildings in downtown Des Moines.

The lawsuit alleges that managers knew about the infestation for more than two years but didn't warn tenants or properly treat it until the lawsuit was filed.