Glen E. Ellman
Dozens of former residents of The Cooper, a luxury apartment complex in Fort Worth’s Near Southside, have filed a sweeping lawsuit alleging negligence and gross misconduct following a catastrophic six-alarm fire that destroyed part of the complex on June 23.
Filed in Tarrant County’s 48th District Court, the lawsuit names The Cooper Fort Worth LLC; its owner, Lightbulb Capital Group; former and current property managers Cushman & Wakefield and RPM Living; as well as Cano Electric Inc., its owner Larry Cano, and employee Armando Rodelo as defendants. The plaintiffs are seeking more than $1 million in damages, though the exact amount will ultimately be decided by a jury, if it finds the defendants liable. They also want the court to step in with orders to protect their rights, which they say were repeatedly violated before and after the fire.
“What happened at The Cooper is unfathomable,” said the residents’ attorney, Katie Steele, of Varghese Summersett. “No one should lose their home due to negligence — and then be shut out from recovering what little remained. This is cruelty piled on top of catastrophe.”
According to the suit, the blaze began after Rodelo — according to the lawsuit, an unlicensed and untrained technician — was sent alone to perform high-voltage electrical work on a rooftop HVAC unit. Plaintiffs allege that Cano Electric, retained by Cushman & Wakefield, dispatched Rodelo without proper supervision or safety protocols. They claim that Larry Cano, a licensed master electrician, failed to oversee the work despite knowing the risks.
The fire quickly engulfed Building 1 and spread to Building 2, forcing more than 800 residents to evacuate. Many escaped with only the clothes on their backs, leaving behind pets, medications, legal documents, and personal possessions. It took more than 30 hours and nearly 300 firefighters to bring the blaze under control, according to the lawsuit.
In the weeks following the fire, plaintiffs say they were denied reasonable access to their homes and belongings. They claim that RPM Living, which took over management in late July, imposed harsh conditions—including signing broad legal liability waivers — in exchange for limited, time-restricted access to their damaged units. In some cases, access was denied altogether, particularly for residents of Building 1, which was deemed structurally unsound.
The lawsuit also alleges that management failed to maintain fire alarms, implement adequate safety procedures, or hire competent contractors, despite multiple prior maintenance complaints and even two previous fires in Building 1.
The plaintiffs are asking for exemplary damages, attorney’s fees, and a temporary restraining order to prevent the destruction of evidence and ensure access to the property for inspection. They also seek a jury trial.
The Cooper, marketed as a modern luxury development, opened in 2021 at 1001 W. Rosedale Street.
None of the named defendants had filed responses to the suit as of Wednesday afternoon.
“We have exhausted every avenue in our efforts to obtain answers from Lightbulb and RPM Living,” Steele said. “Our calls for transparency have been met with silence. The time for avoiding accountability is over. We will see them in court.”