A D.C. federal judge certified two damages classes in a renter's suit accusing Bozzuto Management Company of failing to disclose utility fees and overcharging tenants for water and sewer service.

What happened

A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday certified two damages classes of current and former Bozzuto Management Company tenants in Laura Hettinger's suit over the company's utility-notice and billing practices, while refusing to let the former tenant pursue classwide forward-looking injunctions.

Chief Judge James E. Boasberg said Hettinger's proposed damages classes were "appropriately defined" and could proceed under Rule 23(b)(3), allowing tenants to aggregate claims the opinion described as relatively small. The ruling appoints Hettinger as representative for the damages classes and her attorneys as class counsel.

The first certified class targets alleged drip pricing. It covers current and former residential tenants at Bozzuto-managed properties who filed rental applications while Bozzuto managed the property and were charged or paid a service fee or variable utility charges between Dec. 5, 2020, and Aug. 27, 2025. The second class covers current and former tenants at Bozzuto-managed D.C. properties who were charged or paid water or sewer rates above the operative D.C. regulatory caps at any point since Dec. 5, 2020.

Hettinger claims Bozzuto's rental applications omitted utility costs that later appeared in monthly bills, including service fees and variable water and sewer charges. The court noted that it previously granted her summary judgment on one claim, finding Bozzuto's failure to identify utility fees when she applied violated D.C.'s Rental Housing Act and, in turn, the Consumer Protection Procedures Act.

Bozzuto argued the certification question was premature because Conservice LLC and property owners were absent nonparties whose interests could be affected. Judge Boasberg rejected that Rule 19 argument, finding Bozzuto adequately represented those interests and noting that Conservice had earlier been brought into the case by Bozzuto before the two resolved their dispute.

The court also rejected certification for injunctive-relief classes because Hettinger is no longer a Bozzuto tenant and did not allege she planned to apply for or rent a Bozzuto-managed property again. For the overcharge class, the court found common legal questions predominated and said damages were discernible, easily calculable and relatively small.

The opinion orders Bozzuto to produce the names and contact information of class members by Aug. 5 and directs Hettinger to file a notice plan by Sept. 4. The court declined to shift notice costs to Bozzuto, saying the representative plaintiff should bear notice-related costs under the usual rule.