Protest Planned Against Retaliatory Eviction by Middletown Living
7.16.2025 / Joseph Souza / munciepostdemocrat.com
MUNCIE, Ind. — Tenants and community activists have planned an emergency protest against Middletown Living at the company’s office location, 1709 North Walnut Street. Middletown and its subsidiaries have faced intense controversy in the past for their abuses against renters and is currently facing a potential class action lawsuit from tenants. The rental company is now attempting to evict an elderly, disabled, BSU alumni from their home on Bethel Ave, a street that she has lived on for over 30 years.
The eviction is a shameless retaliation attempt against both the resident and her daughter, Alysson Fergison, who have been documenting and reporting the company’s violations to state and local oversight authorities. Fergison began a tenants rights group, aptly named “MiddleTown Property Group Sucks”.
The website reads in part: “This campaign is part of an effort to hold MiddleTown Property Group accountable for years of predatory business practices, taking advantage of innocent, vulnerable residents, and creating a toxic work environment for employees…The ultimate goal is to file a class action lawsuit against [them] on behalf of their victims.”
Horror stories from dozens of tenants documenting the company’s malpractice are present on the website, along with information on how tenants can get involved in the class action lawsuit. Fergison has also begun a petition against her mother’s eviction, along with a legal defense fund. As of writing, the fund is 70% towards the total goal of $5,000.
“This isn’t just about keeping my mother in her home. This property management company has been preying on innocent, vulnerable Hoosiers for years. They were fined tens of thousands of dollars by the Indiana Attorney General’s office less than two years ago…” Fergison stated on the fund. “They have destroyed countless lives without remorse and their business practices only became more egregiously predatory after being fined in the fall of 2023.”
“Emergency Protest: Defend Against Retaliatory Eviction”
A protest organized with local members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation in September of 2022 brought media attention to a community full of aggrieved tenants. The subsequent public backlash resulted in BSU cutting all ties with the company. The university issued a cease and desist for MTPG to immediately stop using all “Ball State” trademarks, including one of the names of its various fronts, “BSURentals”.
Kiwani Pines, an attendee of the 2022 protest and now an organizer of this emergency action, is calling for community members and aggrieved tenants to come in support of Ms. Fergison and her mother. “Middletown is openly attempting to silence the people bringing the most light to their crimes, their retaliation is an unconscionable attack on another victim and their countless abuses,” Pines said. Pine said, “We need to rally again as a community, its up to tenants to hold this company accountable and ensure that their abuses against residents are put to an end.”