Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
Is my landlord responsible for my health condition? Over a three week period, my landlord copper repiped my apartment. 50 sq. ft. of wall was opened. The opened walls released Stachybotrys/Black Mold into the air, as documented by an Environmental Hygeinist. I now have a Stachybotrys infection in my body, as documented by my doctor.
First, I believe my landlord breached our contract of habitability by performing the construction while I still lived there. Second, the construction workers did all their cutting and soldering on my roof, breach of contract - quiet enjoyment and nuisance. Third, I am now quite sick, violation of Health and Safety code 17980.7.
Was it illegal for my landlord to perform construction on my apartment while I lived there? Should I retain an attorney, or just sue in small claims court? For how much should I sue?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Nobody on this list can give you an opinion as to the validity of your claims, or even the value of your claims - to do so would be irresponsible. The only way to determine if your claims have merit is to have a qualified, experienced attorney review the facts, the qualifications of both the doctor and the hygenist, and then determine what your damages might be. If I were you, and facing all that you have, I would not attempt to be an arm-chair attorney - you need to hire someone to review and possibly take the case. There is certainly enough there that you should at least review this with a qualified, experienced attorney. Mold cases are not as clear-cut as one might think, and I think Small Claims Court is probably not the venue where you could present the case in a light which will yield the best results. I have seen a lot of tenants take mold cases to Small Claims Court and lose because they did not present the case properly.
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