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

January 05, 2011

By Laura Anthony

PITTSBURG, Calif. (KGO) — Tenants of one East Bay apartment complex say their health is in danger and their landlord isn’t doing enough to protect them. They’re worried about black mold. A building inspector paid a visit to the Portofino Apartments in Pittsburg on Wednesday.

The building inspector did come by the apartments and he ordered the management company, Riverstone Residential Group, to fix a glaring hole in the ceiling, but tenants say there’s not enough being done about the larger issue of toxic black mold.

“It’s poisonous black mold and you need to have eye protection, mouth protection, hand protection and stuff on your body to walk in our house,” says tenant Joseph Lombardo.

Lombardo issued that warning, before letting a city building inspector in to see the collapsed ceiling in his Pittsburg apartment.

“I have this black mold all outside,” says Lombardo.

The ceiling of suddenly disintegrated last week. Until then, Lombardo, his wife and young son kept getting sick, with coughs and runny noses.

Amid the debris, Lombardo spotted what he thought was mold. The landlord at the Portofino Apartments told him it was just wet dirt and advised him to hire his own mold specialist. That specialist found high levels of toxic black mold and deemed the apartment unsafe to occupy.

“We’re at a hotel right now. My son, this has just devastated my son right now, devastated him. He has nightmares. He just wants to go home. All his new toys from Christmas are here,” says Lombardo.

The city building inspector told ABC7 it was a water leak and told us what the owner needs to do about it.

“I’m going to call them and ask them about the leak and if they don’t do anything about it, I’ll send them a notice and give them about 10 days to get permits and get it fixed,” says Pittsburg building inspector K.C. Kampton.

The city inspector says it’s not his job to identify mold or order it cleaned up.

“I can’t breathe,” says Elizabeth Sofge who lives adjacent to the Lombardos.

Sofge says she’s also been sick lately and wonders why the landlord shouldn’t have to inspect her ceiling and roof too.

“If I’m that close to him then yeah, it should be fixed because I am an asthmatic,” says Sofge.

The manager at the Portofino Apartments would not comment on tenants’ requests for cleanup of the mold problem. Her supervisors at Riverstone Residential Group did not return numerous calls from ABC7 News.

The Lombardos’ problem is just the latest involving black mold here. Several other lawsuits are pending over the issue, involving as many 30 tenants.

Building inspector looks into apartment roof collapse

Families get sick due to apartment mold – Portofino Apartments in Pittsburg, CA – Leasing Office says MOLD is “Wet Dirt” – Lawsuits against management company, Riverstone Residential Group, & apartment owner Aspen Leverage for damages & wrongful eviction after they say they were kicked out for complaining

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