Facts

Plaintiffs Jeffry and Julie Dill, along with their adult children, rented a townhome in the Newport Crest condominium development in Newport Beach. The plaintiffs entered into the lease on Oct. 8, 2004. Six weeks later, two weeks after moving in, plaintiffs moved out of the property due to mold contamination. Defendants Ruth and Susan Schuh had leased the property, which was owned by the Ruth Sullivan Schuh Revocable Living Trust. Defendant Susan was a licensed real estate broker in Hawaii, where she had operated her own real estate company for over 27 years. She had returned to California in 1999 to manage her mother's properties.

A telephone repairman discovered the mold on November 10 in a crawl space behind the garage and beneath the living room. The community, built in the 1970s, had experienced water leaks and mold problems.

On Nov. 15, 2007, Hygiene Technologies inspected the property and confirmed mold growth in the crawl space and by the exterior sliding doors in the living room. A 16-point remediation plan was recommended based on the levels of mold spores in the air.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs contended that defendant advised plaintiffs to move out of the property. While the mold problems were being investigated, plaintiffs boarded at a hotel, paid for by defendant Newport Crest. Plaintiffs also contended that defendants declined to execute any of the recommendations, and demanded plaintiffs move back into the property. Both Hygiene Tech and defendant Susan Schuh allegedly refused to furnish plaintiffs with a copy of the inspection report. The defendant maintained to plaintiffs that the interior of the home was not unhealthy, and as of December 3, stopped paying for their hotel stays. The plaintiffs refused to return to the townhome, terminated their lease, and removed their personal property from the premises. Defendant did not repair the water leaks by the sliding doors and in the crawlspace until May 2005; she did not remediate the mold in the crawlspace.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiffs demanded $50,000. Defendant Newport Crest initially offered $13,000.

Injuries

The plaintiffs claimed to have sustained mold-related injuries.

Result

In February 2008, plaintiffs reached a $23,000 settlement with defendant Newport Crest Homeowners Association. Following a March 2008 trial, the court found for the Shuh defendants. The court granted defendant Shuhs' motion for nonsuit during trial because plaintiffs presented no evidence that any mold found on the premises caused their alleged injuries, (some of which they suffered from before leasing the subject property), or that they had suffered any damages. Further, the court found that the "property was not rendered uninhabitable by reason of any mold or traces of mold found on either the carpet track or in the living areas' airspace." Judgment was entered in favor of the Shuhs and they were awarded costs of $1370.20.

Other Information

FILING DATE: Nov. 8, 2005.