The lawsuit

Debra Davies filed suit in Durham County Superior Court against the owner and management firm of Ashton Place, a 51-unit affordable senior housing complex in downtown Durham, over the November 2024 death of her son, Jason Pulliam. Pulliam died of heart failure after becoming trapped in the building's laundry room when an electronic door malfunctioned and could not be opened from inside.

The complaint alleges that if Pulliam or another person in the room had been able to exit or call for help, emergency personnel could have arrived sooner and provided care that might have saved his life. A tenant told investigators Pulliam appeared distressed when he entered the laundry room, and his condition worsened before anyone could get out. Davies says her son had congestive heart failure dating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Who is named and what they owe

The suit names four defendants: Downtown Home Improvement Corporation Inc. (DHIC), the Raleigh-based nonprofit that developed the property; Community Management Corporation (CMC), the Winston-Salem firm hired to manage it; Ashton Place Housing LLC; and Ashton Place Managing Members, LLC. Davies seeks compensatory damages for Pulliam's estate and damages for her own emotional distress, including mental anguish, grief, anxiety, and loss of sleep.

Lead attorney Lee Rodio, of the Howard Stallings Law Firm in Raleigh, declined to answer questions. "We'll let the allegations in the complaint speak for themselves," Rodio said.

The defendants' position

DHIC attorney Jack Bayliss said he had not yet seen the complaint and declined to comment. DHIC executive director Yolanda Winstead was unavailable, and calls to CMC went unreturned. Both had previously told reporters that Ashton Place bore no responsibility for Pulliam's death.

"It's sad whenever a young person passes away like this, but Ashton Place doesn't have any responsibility for his death, and that's our position," Bayliss said at the time.

Where things stand

The defendants have not yet formally responded to the complaint in Durham County Superior Court. The lawsuit proceeds against a backdrop of tenant organizing at Ashton Place: residents there and at the nearby Willard Street Apartments formed tenant unions in March 2026 to protest what they describe as poor management and deferred maintenance.