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Re: HVAC Mold Inspections
Posted by Rem Dude on 3/06/08

    A simple mold inspection prior to moving in to the contaminated apartment could have avoided
    all the problems for this family. But then they would have been out $250 as opposed to
    winning $190K in a settlement.

    RD

    On 3/06/08, Deborah wrote:
    > Update: Brookfield man nets $190k settlement over toxic mold claim
    > By Karen Ali STAFF WRITER
    > Article Last Updated: 03/06/2008 06:29:05 AM EST
    >
    > BROOKFIELD -- A man who sued his landlord, claiming the home he and his family were
    > renting was poisonous, has won $190,000 in a settlement from the landlord's insurance
    > company, according to a lawyer involved in the case.
    >
    > Gary J. Tricarico, who now lives on Vale Road, won the settlement following a mediation
    > session, according to New Milford lawyer Harry Cohen, who originally represented Tricarico
    > in the case.
    >
    > http://www.newstimes.com/ci_8462586?source=most_viewed
    >
    >
    >
    > On 3/02/08, Deborah wrote:
    >> RD
    >>
    >> As you pointed out, you are not an attorney. There is an implied warranty of
    >> habitability when a property owner puts out a place to lease. In this case, it was
    >> already breached when he concealed and/or failed to disclose a defect, compounded when
    >> he allowed the damage to continue by failing to inform and taking steps to have his
    >> servant continue the concealment, and doubly compounded when he refused to remediate or
    >> to let occupant remediate, moving to evict (retaliatory eviction) based on false
    >> information in order to prevent laboratory analysis determining toxins present. The
    >> suspensive appeal brought an admission that an employee of a government agency tasked
    >> with taking samples for chemical analysis was being kept apprised of property owners'
    >> actions and intent of those actions. Testimony provided in court by property owner
    >> revealed the true intent and an involuntary admission that the eviction requested, based
    >> on no lease, was a complete fabrication.
    >>
    >> This is a case where the powers that be were determined that no precedent would be set,
    >> especially not by some uppity woman. However, your advice is good and surely requesting
    >> an inspection alone will prompt some prospective landlords to action and spare some
    >> tenants misery.
    >>
    >> We are speaking apples and oranges here, so let us take Dakota wisdom to heart and
    >> dismount this dead horse. I am busy and so are you. While you do answer some questions,
    >> you avoid others pertinent to clear discussion. Let us resolve to waste no more ink.
    >>
    >> "The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's
    >> real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and
    >> exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink."
    >> - George Orwell
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >> On 3/01/08, Deborah wrote:
    >>> Hummm RD,
    >>>
    >>> RD,
    >>> I tried to post a response but it didn't make it past web filter and I cannot figure
    >>> out what is tripping it. I must run now, but I'll try to send it piecemeal later.
    >>>
    >>>
    >>>
    >>>
    >>>>>
    >>>>> On 2/29/08, Rem Dude wrote:
    >>>>>> Deborah:
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>> You proved my entire point of this thread. A simple HVAC inspection would have
    >>>>>> caught the problem before said occupant moved in. Secondly, if the contamination
    >>>>>> occurred after move in, then an annual inspection would have caught the
    >>>>>> contamination. EITHER way, said occupant would not have been exposed to mold
    >>>>>> contamination for 2 years.
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>> Let said occupant serve as an example for everyone else - get your HVAC
    >>>>>> inspected for fungal contamination every cooling season.
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>> RD
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>> On 2/29/08, Deborah wrote:
    >>>>>>> Just when I thought there was a person there...sigh..
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>> I know you aren't a lawyer and the lease was standard. Property owner liable
    >>>>>> for
    >>>>>>> maintenance of immovable appliances.
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>> Occupant had no idea what was making said occupant ill. Occupant was ill
    >>>>>>> increasingly ill over a 2 year period. Occupant moved out immediately upon
    >>>>>>> discovering what the culprit was and moved to have it tested and identified.
    >>>>>>> Property owner tried to stop this unsuccessfully. Handyman sent by landlord to
    >>>>>>> "remediate" arrives with a brush and spray bottle and explains several other
    >>>>>>> unauthorized entries were made during prior year to "clean" coils and that both
    >>>>>>> handyman and property owner were aware of occupant's illness and cluelessness
    >>>>>>> about the condition of the HVAC system and the presence of mold within the
    >>>>>>> system. A retaliatory eviction was attempted to prevent collection of samples.
    >>>>>>> Samples were collected and identified.
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>> The analysis was necessary to determine what was causing symptoms and proper
    >>>>>>> approach to remediation before contents could be removed.
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>> You prove over and over that even with a superficial acknowledgment of the
    >>>>>>> facts, you are quick to reach a conclusion based on your own beliefs or values
    >>>>>>> rather than justice. This isn't academic, it was my life and represents what
    >>>>>> is
    >>>>>>> happening to people by the thousands daily.
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>> On 2/29/08, Rem Dude wrote:
    >>>>>>>> Deborah:
    >>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>> 1. I am not a lawyer.
    >>>>>>>> 2. I do not have a copy of the lease to even be able to make an assumption.
    >>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>> My question is - If the occupant was sick and had proof it was from mold
    >>>>>>>> exposure and had proof that the HVAC system was contaminated and had proof
    >>>>>>>> that the landlord was not responding, then why oh why was the occupant still
    >>>>>>>> in the house???
    >>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>> Hummmm...
    >>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>> RD
    >>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>> On 2/29/08, Deborah wrote:
    >>>>>>>>> If the property owner had knowledge of the defect, concealed it, and failed
    >>>>>>>>> to inform, and knew occupant was sick with symptoms known to be caused by
    >>>>>>>>> the problem, do you feel the lease was breached?
    >>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>> On 2/29/08, Rem Dude wrote:
    >>>>>>>>>> Deborah
    >>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>> Not really. I look at enough of them every day.
    >>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>> RD
    >>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>> On 2/29/08, Deborah wrote:
    >>>>>>>>>>> hmm, "if you don't like it, move" and "if it made you ill, you are a
    >>>>>>>>>>> whining, card-carrying member of the Victim Industry who is
    >>>>>>>>>>> genetically inferior, er, susecptible".
    >>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>> Would you like to see the pics and lab report on what was found on the
    >>>>>>>>>>> HVAC coils in my place?
    >>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>> On 2/26/08, Rem Dude wrote:
    >>>>>>>>>>>> Deborah:
    >>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>> Mold contamination is certainly grounds for breaking a lease if the
    >>>>>>>>>>>> landlord is unresponsive to requests to correct the problem.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>> RD
    >>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>> On 2/26/08, Deborah wrote:
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> Don't have it in front of me, but standard rule is that immovables
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> are considered domain of property owner.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> No matter, when I asked to have it done, inspection guy was
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> labeled fraud by landlord and I was told to leave despite offering
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> to assist in payment or pay for it all, this after verbal lease
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> renewal just a few weeks before.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> When the water in hall was discovered just a couple of weeks or so
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> later, leading to HVAC closet and plugged condensation tube, I had
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> a good look at underneath of coils and intake plenum. Handyman
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> said he'd "cleaned" coils 3x during the prior year at landlord's
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> request...without my knowledge, of course. Handyman said he'd
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> told landlord coils needed to be replaced or removed for thorough
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> cleaning...landlord refused to do either. Again, I had no
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> knowledge of any of this. Water had been flowing under carpet
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> padding for some time. And, no, my sense of smell wasn't
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> functioning properly due to prior poisoning.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> When it is my responsibility to do more than regularly change
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> filter, depending on unit, clean 2 to 4 times per year. In my
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> camper, it was easy to do frequently. Window units, depending on
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> where they are located, if done regularly and kept clean, not so
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> bad. Central HVAC beyond my capabilities without assist.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>> On 2/26/08, Rem Dude wrote:
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Depends. Read your leasing agreement...
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>> RD
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 2/26/08, Deborah wrote:
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Let me answer with a question; who is responsible for HVAC
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> evaluation, maintenance, and repair, landlord or tenant?
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 2/26/08, Rem Dude wrote:
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> For those who complain about IAQ related illnesses or the
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> dangers of mold, how often do you have your HVAC system
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> evaluated?
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> RD
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 2/25/08, Rem Dude wrote:
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> In reviewing last year’s Residential HVAC system
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> inspections that we conducted, 100&37; of them tested
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> positive for internal duct board/insulation fungal
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> contamination and 100&37; of them tested positive for drip
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> pan fungal contamination.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> In reviewing last year’s Commercial HVAC system
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> inspections that we conducted approximately 78&37; tested
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> positive for internal fungal contamination.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> RD


     
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