Tustin Couple Win $609,000 in Suit Over Wages

A Tustin couple who managed a Pomona apartment complex have won $609,000 from the building’s owner for failing to pay them their agreed-upon wages for more than two years, the couple’s attorney said.

Jurors in Los Angeles County Superior Court here awarded $200,000 in punitive damages and about $409,000 in compensatory damages to Roy and Cornelia Lululescu, who used to be live-in managers of the 64-unit Tahiti Village apartments in Pomona, attorney Maurice Mandel said.

The award, rendered last week after a three-week trial, was assessed against Nick Mallas, a San Juan Capistrano man who owns commercial and residential rental properties, Mandel said. Mallas and his attorneys could not be reached for comment.

The Lululescus, who now live in Tustin, contended that Mallas breached their salary contract by failing to pay them $10 an hour for managing the Tahiti Village complex and several other properties between September, 1983, and January, 1986. Mandel said much of the couple’s work consisted of complying with city orders to repair substandard septic tanks and eradicate roaches and vermin on the property.