Two military officers and their families are suing their private housing companies, alleging that their extensive mold in Monterrey, California, caused health problems in homes and ruined their personal belongings.
In the case of a family, the sewage is returned to their bathtub, sued. According to a lawsuit filed in Monterey County Superior Court on March 3, another family worked for months with a stinky cupboard that their daughter’s teacher found so bad it “smelled of a little girl’s clothes”.
The family lived in the parks of Monterey Bay. The suit was filed on behalf of Navy Cmdr. Louis D’Antonio, his wife Amber and their four children; And Marine Major. Ryan Keller, his wife Samantha, and their three children. Like some Other military families at other establishmentsFamilies were moved to makeshift houses, only to find more molds. The suit accuses the landlord’s companies of “false promises, tortured living conditions, personal injury and property damage caused by their gross neglect, malfeasance and greed.”
Families had household goods Contaminated with mold, They left those belongings in the houses waiting for the landowner to document and assess the damage and reimburse them, said Jim Moriarty, attorney for the families. But, after fruitless efforts for reimbursement – and being rented out for homes they could not live in – the families later returned and paid out of pocket to dispose of a “lifetime of goods”. In the case of the D’ntonio family, their household items cost around $ 187,500 – and $ 2,500 for disposal, according to Cmdr. D’Antonio
“Thank God we’re not alone in this, but we don’t want it on our enemies,” D’Antonio told the Military Times.
The named defendant landlord companies are Monterey Military Housing, LLC; Clarke Pinnacle Monterey Bay; Clarke Realty Capital, LLC; Pinnacle Monterey, LLC; And Michaels Management Services. Clarke Realty Capital, the parent company of Monterrey Housing Institutions, had no immediate comment. Michaels Management Services president Ron Hansen was traveling and said he had not yet seen the lawsuit.
The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps own 2,580 homes for service members and students.
Sue joins A string of others Dozens of military families have been involved, suing various private housing companies with continuing problems with the condition of their homes, including medical and financial issues. Following media reports and congressional hearings, which brought attention to mold and other widespread problems with military housing, laws were enacted in late 2019 and late 2020 and more to provide defense officials with better oversight of privatized housing landlords Forced to be sensitive. Families frustrated by lack of action.
The Monterey lawsuit accuses landlord companies of common law fraud, deceptive trade practices, breach of contract, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, and habitual breach of implied warranty and repair of good and work.
The lawsuits allege that the companies were aware of the problems with the homes, and misrepresented the status of the homes to service members. If those service members had the opportunity to properly inspect the houses and if the landlord companies had disclosed the true nature of the damage to the houses, “none of the service members would have been lodged in the respective leases,” in the lawsuit. Having said.
The companies failed to comply with the leases, “by failing to ensure that the houses are fit for human habitation and by diligently repairing and taking measures that affect the conditions,” the lawsuit goes on. .
“In my view, it is exceptionally important that these families get rid of them [contaminated] Personal property and replace it, so children have clothes and they have mattresses that do not give them hemorrhage and do not make their children sick, ”said Moriti
He said the families have been trying to come to an agreement with the companies for almost two years, and he is also trying to negotiate on their behalf before filing a lawsuit.
According to the Monterey lawsuit:
Within months after moving into the house in June 2018, the entire D’Antonio family began to suffer from health conditions.
“The stench of the house at 8027 Shubrick Road and the deformed mold that we encountered within the first few days kept them plague through three homes in Monterey Bay and still hunt them today.”
After a year and “three unsuccessful attempts for mold remediation by three different contractors,” the family was moved to a temporary home. “There, they found pests and hairs on bedsheets, a shower without hot water, and signs of mold abatement in the house; within a few months, mold growth in the makeshift house was also detected. Thus, the family Was later moved to his third address in 15 months.
Family members faced a range of issues ranging from persistent runny nose, itchy eyes and cough, chronic congestion and red eyes. One daughter suffered from “frequent and dangerous dizzy spells”, which caused her to fall and withdraw from gymnastics. Another daughter, who had previously been very athletic, “could no longer walk without losing her breath.” All family members started suffering from memory lapses. Family members saw various physicians for their medical conditions.
Families will continue to suffer “health issues associated with exposure to mold and other airborne toxins.”
The Keller family moved to their home at 101 Morel Circle in May 2017 and lived there for nearly two years. At first, the zamindar was finding out what appeared to be relatively small issues, by painting on broken places on the base and trim; Smelling the pipes when the family experienced a flood of water and sewage in the front yard; And thrive on the mold that grows in the bathroom.
But problems started growing, until February, 2018, he backed up sewage in his bathtub. The roots of the tree had penetrated the sewer line at at least four places, but the landlord approved replacing a portion of the line. The mold continues again, and the landlord displaced the family to relocate that month.
“To make matters worse, the temporary home to which the family was relocated suffered from mold and worms.” Family members suffered from persistent cough, sore throat and shortness of breath and other problems. The youngest daughter had rashes.
Regarding her status related to her permanent change during the last interview in June 2019, Samantha Keller told the Military Times Her entire mold-contaminated household items were sealed while her family remained in her home at The Parks in Monterrey Bay, when her family moved to a community home near Camp Pendleton for her husband’s new duty assignment went.
He said a moving company was never found to schedule, she said, because they believe their household items were contaminated with mold, they did not want to move them to their new home near Camp Pendleton. So separated from her important documents which they retrieve, she did not carry any baggage with her when her husband moved to Camp Pendleton.
“We told them to trample it. We cannot give this opportunity to our children, ”she said at the time.
In the end, Kellers paid to dump his belongings, Moriti said.
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