Volunteers offer free legal advice to St. Louis tornado victims

ST. LOUIS — Attorneys knocked on 40 doors Friday offering free legal advice for residents in the north city whose homes were damaged in last week’s tornado. They fielded questions about insurance claims, damage to rental units and how to deal with FEMA.

The attorneys joined Action St. Louis’ volunteer efforts in the Greater Ville neighborhood in north St. Louis, where an EF-3 tornado had ripped through structures and left five people dead on May 16.

“Giving money is great, but we need to do something hands-on — giving people the resources for insurance claims and how to protect themselves,” said Teri Appelbaum, a personal injury lawyer. “It can be so overwhelming for people.”

Volunteers went door to door several days last week, answering questions and dropping off fliers from the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys offering help with replacing legal documents destroyed in the disaster, home repair contracts, landlord-tenant conflicts and more.

On Marcus Avenue, near Natural Bridge Avenue and Kingshighway, the three brick buildings Ronnie Shepard owns sported bright blue tarps where the roofs had blown off. Shepard said he was happy for the advice on how to deal with his insurance company, especially after a bad experience last year after his buildings flooded and both his insurer and the Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected his claims.

“Insurance companies pull a number on people who don’t know any better,” Shepard said.

Alexis Hillery, also a personal injury attorney, told Shepard to keep all of his receipts from repairs and to take pictures of the damage his buildings sustained.

“Everybody that’s volunteered has been a blessing,” Shepard said.

Around the corner on Lexington Avenue, Sharon Garrett opened her front door, holding a baby boy on her hip. She asked the attorneys for help finding a way to fix her damaged home, because she doesn’t have insurance. She bought the house at auction, she said. It’s now missing roof shingles and the siding has been ripped off.

“You look around and all you think is ‘man, that’s gonna cost so much money,’” Garrett said. She asked the group for help getting bleach, bed sheets and diapers. Hillery took down what she needed, and promised items would be delivered soon.

Homeowners without insurance have to rely on government aid programs, like through FEMA, which can take months to come, Hillery said.

The volunteers also fielded questions from nearby residents who flagged them down.

A woman asked Hillery about renter’s rights. She’d lived in her apartment on a month-to-month basis without a lease or renter’s insurance, for seven years. She wanted to know if she had to pay rent if her apartment was too damaged to be safe.

Most leases say that a tenant doesn’t have to pay rent if the rental property is uninhabitable, Hillery said. But check to be sure, she said.

“There are protections for people who are leasing,” she said. “But don’t go and spend that money on something else. Keep it just in case something happens or there’s a legal issue.”

View life in St. Louis the week of May 11, 2025

Storms rocked the St. Louis area with a tornado damaging neighborhoods from Clayton to north St. Louis. View photos from the Post-Dispatch photographers during the week here. Video by Jenna Jones.

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