Court Dismisses Tenant's Claim That Mold in Apartment Caused Injury

Tenant sued landlord for negligence in July 2017 based on mold exposure in her apartment. A month after she moved into the condominium unit, tenant notified landlord by email of the presence of mold in the bathroom shower. In response, landlord authorized and instructed tenant to remedy the issue and deduct any cost incurred for remediation from her rent. Tenant then left the apartment from Dec. 28, 2016, through March 5, 2017. During that time a water leak occurred in February 2017 due to a broken supply hose under the apartment's kitchen sink. Landlord immediately retained a professional drying service to clean up the water and dry out the kitchen. When tenant returned, the parties communicated via email immediately regarding the scheduling of repairs due to the water damage caused by the leak. On March 9, 2017, tenant notified landlord by email that a mold condition in the apartment caused her to become ill. Tenant demanded immediate repairs and a reduction in her monthly rent. Landlord immediately authorized repairs and air testing for the presence of mold. Testing showed no active mold condition. Landlord agreed to terminate tenant's lease, and by April 18, 2017, tenant had moved out. 

Landlord asked the court to dismiss the complaint and various cross-claims without trial. Landlord claimed that it had no actual or constructive notice of a mold condition in the apartment while tenant lived there, and that there was no proof that mold was a proximate cause of tenant's injury.

The court ruled for landlord and dismissed the case. While there was no dispute that tenant complained of mold in the bathroom shower after moving into the unit, landlord addressed the complaint in a timely manner and the issue was not brought to landlord's attention again until several months later and only after tenant complained of a different mold condition following the leak in the kitchen. Landlord immediately addressed the condition in the kitchen. At that point, landlord was unaware that a mold condition allegedly persisted in the shower. Tenant couldn't establish when the mold in the apartment began, and landlord didn't have an ongoing duty to monitor tenant's apartment for the possible development of environmental hazards. 

Marks v. Cosmos Ventures I, LLC: Index No. 156521/2017, 2024 NY Slip Op 33617(U)(Sup. Ct. NY/ 10/11/24; Goetz, J)