National Apartment Association Tells Its Members MOLD CAUSES DEATH; Tells Courts It Doesn’t With The Help of US Chamber and UCLA

Thank You National Apartment Association. I will do my best to get this very important information out ASAP to numerous owners, investors, huge property management companies (e.g., Riverstone Residential), attorneys, and judges, AND, of course, to the MANY people who are currently living in MOLD-INFESTED APARTMENT COMPLEXES right now! katy

“…Sales told Abbitt that there was mold in his apartment and asked to have the mold repaired. Abbitt, as Kecoughtan’s agent, went into the apartment to make the repairs, but actually only painted over the mold. Afterwards, Abbitt told Sales that the mold had been fixed and that the apartment was fine. Sales kept living in the apartment and continued to pay rent. A few months later, mold started growing in Sales’ eyes and infested and destroyed his personal property. Sales then sued Kecoughtan and Abbitt for defective repair, fraud and constructive fraud.”

June 2, 2010 by Heidi Meinzer

It’s no secret that Virginia law usually sides with the landlord more than the tenant. It’s also no secret that Virginia courts tend to let cases go to the jury more than other jurisdictions. So what happens when a Virginia tenant brings claims of misrepresentation and negligent repairs against his landlord?

In Sales v. Kecoughtan Housing Company, Ltd. et al., Judge Lerner of the City of Hampton Circuit Court stopped the tenant in his tracks by sustaining the landlord’s demurrer. The Virginia Supreme Court recently reversed, sending the case back to the trial court.

Mr. Sales entered into a rental agreement with Kecoughtan Housing Company, which hired Mr. Abbitt to manage the apartments where Sales lived. After several months, Sales told Abbitt that there was mold in his apartment and asked to have the mold repaired. Abbitt, as Kecoughtan’s agent, went into the apartment to make the repairs, but actually only painted over the mold. Afterwards, Abbitt told Sales that the mold had been fixed and that the apartment was fine. Sales kept living in the apartment and continued to pay rent. A few months later, mold started growing in Sales’ eyes and infested and destroyed his personal property. Sales then sued Kecoughtan and Abbitt for defective repair, fraud and constructive fraud.

As to the negligent repair claim, Kecoughtan and Abbitt argued that they had no duty to make repairs, and that there was no showing that Abbitt’s repairs created any danger that caused Sales’ injury. The Virginia Supreme Court rejected these arguments, resting on the fact that although a landlord has no common law duty to make repairs after delivering possession of the premises to the tenant, once the landlord undertakes the repairs and enters the premises, the landlord must use reasonable care to make those repairs.

As to Sales’ actual and constructive fraud claims, Kecoughtan and Abbitt argued that the representations that the mold had been repaired and that the apartment was habitable were matters of opinion, not statements of fact. The Court rejected this argument as well, finding that the representations were statements of the apartment’s present quality or character, constituting statements of fact rather than mere opinions.

The lesson to be learned is – finish what you start. To all of the landlords and property managers out there, when a tenant asks you to make a repair, find out exactly what you are getting yourself into before you agree to go inside!

valanduseconstructionlaw.com

Information about Riverstone Residential, the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, and the owners of Jefferson Lakes Apartments in Baton Rouge, Louisiana allowing tenants to be exposed to extreme amounts of toxins from molds by intentionally concealing evidence

Irrefutable evidence indicates that Riverstone Residential, Guarantee Service Team of Professionals, & plaintiffs’ attorney, J Arthur Smith III, must have agreed to exclude evidence that would have shown the owners of Jefferson Lakes Apartments & Riverstone Residential had knowledge of the severe MOLD INFESTATION at the complex before we moved in

Riverstone Residential Litigation

Mold Inspection Reports

Photos of Mold in Apartment

Attorney Malpractice

TRUTH OUT Sharon Kramer Letter To Andrew Saxon MOLD ISSUE

Action Group Asks U of CA To Take Name Off US Chamber Medico-Legal Publication

Regents of the University of California acknowledge imprimatur on 2003 US Chamber of Commerce medico-legal publication

New Action Committee – ACHEMMIC- Urges Transparency in EPA Policy Over Mold & Microbial Contaminants

Truth About Mold – the most up to date, accurate, and reliable information on Toxic Mold

FEMA Using US Chamber Fraud in Katrina Trailer Litigation; EPA, GAO & Both Isle$ of Congre$$ Turn Blind Eye$

Sociological Issues Relating to Mold: The Mold Wars

Certain Corporate and Government Interests Have Spent Huge Sums of Money and Resources DENYING THE TRUTH about the HEALTH EFFECTS of TOXIC MOLD

Political Action Committee – National Apartment Association (NAA) files Amicus Brief in mold case (two infant deaths in mold filled apt – Wasatch Prop Mgmt) citing US Chamber/ACOEM ‘litigation defense report’ to disclaim health effects of indoor mold & limit financial risk for industry

“Changes in construction methods have caused US buildings to become perfect petri dishes for mold and bacteria to flourish when water is added. Instead of warning the public and teaching physicians that the buildings were causing illness; in 2003 the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, a think-tank, and a workers comp physician trade organization mass marketed an unscientific nonsequitor to the courts to disclaim the adverse health effects to stave off liability for financial stakeholders of moldy buildings. Although publicly exposed many times over the years, the deceit lingers in US courts to this very day.” Sharon Noonan Kramer