Tenant Claims Injury by Mold in Her Apartment

October 8, 2018

LVT Number: #28671

Tenant sued landlord, claiming personal injuries due to exposure to toxic mold and fungi in her apartment. Tenant claimed lost wages but failed to produce her employment records for the prior eight years. The court then barred tenant from producing these records at trial since she had failed to produce them during pretrial questioning and document production. The court also denied tenant's request to amend her claim to include property damage. Tenant appealed and won.

Tenant sued landlord, claiming personal injuries due to exposure to toxic mold and fungi in her apartment. Tenant claimed lost wages but failed to produce her employment records for the prior eight years. The court then barred tenant from producing these records at trial since she had failed to produce them during pretrial questioning and document production. The court also denied tenant's request to amend her claim to include property damage. Tenant appealed and won. Tenant showed a reasonable excuse for her delay in producing the documents, based on law office failure by her attorneys, and had a potentially meritorious claim against landlord. Tenant should also be permitted to amend her bill of particulars concerning property damage since this didn't unfairly surprise landlord.

Liese v. Hennessey: 2018 NY Slip Op 06087, 2018 WL 4473001 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; 9/19/18; Rivera, JP, Chambers, Austin, Barros, JJ)

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