Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
nondisclosure, mold and foreclosure
I purchased my home in October of 2006, not knowing that it was infested with toxic mold until after I moved in and was removing old linoleum to put down new and a subsequent leak in the guest bathroom. As a result, my homeowner's insurance carrier canceled me with out finishing the mold remediation in the guest bathroom and there are a whole host of other things wrong with the house that were not disclosed during the transaction and missed by the inspector. Because I was sick due to the mold, I am now two months into foreclosure and without homeowners insurance. I don't want to lose my home and am considering Chapter 13 Bankruptcy to try to save it and start over. There were tenants in the house before I bought it and I have since found them and they told me that they had problems with leaks and plumbing and that the owner wouldn't fix anything when they complained. I have consulted with numerous attorneys and have gotten nowhere. I need help and advice ASAP. Please help
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: nondisclosure, mold and foreclosure
What do you mean by, "you have gotten nowhere"? How much of a fee were you quoted? If you are expecting an attorney to work on this case on a contingent fee basis where you pay nothing up front, you are going to be disappointed -- because it's not that type of case.
Re: nondisclosure, mold and foreclosure
This sounds like a winnable case, since you have witnesses (the former tenants) who could testify that the landlord/seller knew about the water leakage and other issues, and presumably you have had the mold identified by experts who could also testify as to where it was found in the house and to its toxic nature.
If the landlord knew about these conditions and failed to disclose them, liability can be shown; then you need to show damages (your illness and related loss of income; reduction in value of the home) and then be able to collect a judgment.
Even though the case may be sound, it is not a slam dunk, and each phase will require careful preparation, expert witnesses, etc.
There is a Toxic Mold Protection Act in the Health and Safety Code; it starts at section 26100. I'm not sure there's anything particularly helpful in it; as to sales of residences, it mainly refers to existing provisions of law such as the Civil Code requirement that the seller disclose all known conditions materially affecting the value of the home being sold.
Toxic mold cases have become a sort of sub-specialty in the landlord-tenant or general real property spheres of the law, and I would be surprised if there weren't someone in your county or neighborhood who would at least consider taking your case on a partial contingency basis.
Another couple of factors to consider are whether your purchase agreement has attorney-fee or arbitration clauses, which will affect procedure and cost; and whether either party was represented by a real-estate agent, which might point to the existence of another defendant or two, presumably with deep pockets and/or insurance.
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