25 years ago: Security deposits hard to recover from bankrupt apartments

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for June 23, 1986:

Kansas University students living at the Jayhawk West Apartments, 524 Frontier, had received word the previous spring that the Florida owners of the 231-unit complex were filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 3. After having moved out of the apartments at the end of May, former residents were still waiting to get their security deposits back. According to a representative from the Consumer Affairs Association, unsecured creditors — such as former tenants entitled to their security deposits — would be the last to be reimbursed under Chapter 11, and even then, they might only receive a portion of the money owed them. The only recourse for them would be to file claims with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. However, the local manager of Jayhawk West said that the building was continuing to rent out apartments, that return of deposits had always been handled by the management company, and that she assumed “everything was running as scheduled.” There was no comment from the management company.