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

1/5/2011

By Alan Wang

PITTSBURG, Calif. (KGO) — Something may be growing in the walls at an East Bay apartment complex and it’s making people sick. Now, renters who spoke up may have another problem besides worrying about their health.

“We got sick. Runny noses, coughing, stuff like that, just normal sickness we thought we were catching from outside,” said tenant Joseph Lombardo.

But the illnesses were never-ending. It was a medical mystery to Lombardo’s family until the answer fell right through his ceiling.

“We were getting sick from mold and I went down there and asked them, ‘Is this mold?’ ‘No, it’s wet dirt.’ That’s what she told me at the office,” said Lombardo.

After he complained to the management of the Portofino Apartments in Pittsburg, Lombardo was told to hire his own mold specialist for $500.

“This was black mold they brought out of my house,” said Lombardo, as he dug through a garbage bag full of debris with black mold.

The report showed high levels of black mold and a recommendation to find and fix an apparent leak in the roof. It turns out Lombardo isn’t alone.

“He gets sick a lot, often, like ever since we kind of lived here, and he was never like that,” said tenant Stefanie Olmedo.

Other residents are complaining about respiratory illnesses and now they wonder what could be growing behind their walls and ceilings.

“Well, I know I cough a lot. And I have a 14-year-old son… the same thing,” said another resident.

Wednesday, the Pittsburg city building inspector is scheduled to examine at least one of the building’s roofs and determine if there’s proper ventilation for the apartment units.

ABC7’s attempts to contact the Portofino Apartment managers and their corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas were unsuccessful.

“I have two clients who had problems that we thought could be easily remedied,” said attorney Bob Kane.

Now they’re suing the management company, Riverstone Residential Group, and apartment owner Aspen Leverage for damages and wrongful eviction after they say they were kicked out for complaining.

“We’re not talking about people who have a lot of resources, so one of the problems is they were put in positions where they end up having to stay in these units because there’s no other place to go,” said Kane.

Thirty other tenants are also suing separately for damages and wrongful eviction. Kane said all they ever wanted is for the problem to be fixed.

Families get sick due to apartment mold

Question to Kevin H. Brown, CEO of the National Apartment Association – “So, aptly spoken…are you lying to your members or lying to the courts?” Just Answer The Damn Question!

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

ARIZONA APPELLATE COURT DEFINES “OUTRAGEOUS! BEHAVIOR” AND THEN PROCEEDS TO PRACTICE IT – Fraud In Health Marketing By the US Chamber of Commerce et al. Submitting Known False Legal Documents By Licensed Attorneys

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

Links – Riverstone Residential Mold & Illegal Business Practice Complaints & More!

U.S. Chamber of Commerce & Deceit in Mold Litigation

Citizens, Taxpayers and Concerned Scientists Urge Transparency In Workers’ Comp Medical Association Guidelines Used To Determine Environmentally Injured Worker’s Comp Insurer Benefits; Request Government Oversight To Curtail Insurer Cost Shifting Onto Taxpayer Funded Disability Programs For Work Related Injuries

TRUTH OUT Sharon Kramer Letter To Andrew Saxon MOLD ISSUE

“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