Springfield Court Pauses Mass Tenant Evictions

Greene County Circuit Judge Joshua B. Christensen issued a preliminary injunction on July 28 that temporarily stopped planned evictions at two Springfield properties formerly known as Rosewood Estates and Cedarwood Terrace. The order affects low-income units at what are now called the Villas on Sunset and Pickwick Place, according to court reporting by Springfield Daily Citizen and Springfield Business Journal. The injunction bars the current owners and property manager from evicting or terminating the tenancy of low-income tenants without good cause while the case proceeds. Tenants and their lawyers said the ruling halted removals that had been expected in August. ### Which properties are covered by the court order? The injunction covers Rosewood Estates, now the Villas on Sunset at 604-1120 E. Sunset St., and Cedarwood Terrace, now Pickwick Place at 2244 N. Cedarwood Lane. Springfield Daily Citizen reported that Rosewood includes 32 single-family homes and Cedarwood includes 48 townhomes, with many seniors, people with disabilities and low-income families living there. (sgfcitizen.org) The defendants named in reporting on the injunction include 604-1120 Sunset LLC, Cedarwood Terrace LLC and GPS Property Management. Springfield Business Journal reported that developers Mitch and Amanda Jenkins, founders of Elevation Enterprises LLC, led the February 2024 purchase of the properties through those ownership entities. ### Why were tenants facing eviction now? (sgfcitizen.org) Tenants sued after alleging the owners were trying to remove the properties from the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and convert the units to market-rate or luxury housing. Springfield Daily Citizen reported in May 2025 that current and former tenants filed two lawsuits against current and former owners and managers over those plans. (sgfcitizen.org) August was the immediate pressure point. OzarksFirst reported that tenants said they had been expecting to move out by the end of August, and that the injunction halted current plans to evict low-income, senior and disabled tenants this month. Emily Hester, a Cedarwood tenant and Springfield Tenants Unite leader, told the station: “We were supposed to be moving out at the end of August.” (sgfcitizen.org) ### What exactly did Judge Christensen order? The July 28 order granted a preliminary injunction sought by plaintiffs Ramona Teeter, Shellastine Williams, Jami Johnston and Emily Hester, who are represented by the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom. Springfield Daily Citizen reported that Christensen wrote the plaintiffs had shown “some probability of success” at this stage of the case. (ozarksfirst.com) The order prohibits the defendants from evicting or terminating the tenancy of any tenant in a low-income housing unit without good cause. It also bars rent increases on those low-income units above 7% annually while the litigation continues, according to Springfield Daily Citizen’s account of the ruling. ### Who brought the case, and what are they saying? The named plaintiffs in the class action are Ramona Teeter, Shellastine Williams, Jami Johnston and Emily Hester. (sgfcitizen.org) Springfield Daily Citizen reported they received legal support from the Kansas City-based Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom and appeared at an Aug. 3 press conference in Park Central Square with supporters from Springfield Tenants Unite. Sydney Ragsdale, an attorney for the Heartland Center, told Springfield Daily Citizen the case is “more important in today’s world than ever,” citing the number of affordable housing units exiting the tax-credit program. Hester told OzarksFirst the ruling was “a big stress” lifted for tenants. ### What happens next in court and outside it? A nine-day jury trial is scheduled to start on April 26, 2027, with an alternate start date of Aug. 23, 2027, according to Springfield Daily Citizen’s report on the injunction. (sgfcitizen.org) OzarksFirst separately reported that plaintiff Ramona Teeter said she was looking ahead to the April 26, 2027 trial date. Springfield Tenants Unite plans a town hall and community conversations on Aug. 29 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Resurrection Church, OzarksFirst reported. (sgfcitizen.org) Court records for the case are handled through Greene County Circuit Court, which directs the public to Missouri Case.net for case information. (ozarksfirst.com)