GARDEN GROVE

Three months after a judge appointed a receiver to handle repairs to a blighted apartment complex, the residents have sued the property owners seeking unspecified damages. The move is the first legal action by tenants of Haster Garden Apartments, who have long protested substandard living conditions. In answer to their complaints, the city has cited the landlords and filed lawsuits of its own, but attorney David J. Harter, who is representing the tenants, said that the suit filed is designed to bring some financial compensation for the residents. “The city is doing the best it can at this point,” he said. “[But] we still have people living in just horrendous conditions.” Representatives of Equity Management 2000, one of the named defendants and the property manager since October, could not be reached for comment Monday.