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Aurora
residents suing complex
for mold troubles
Chicago Tribune
- 5/29
In
March 2001, doctors told Tamika James that her 2-month-old daughter
had a cold. But within two weeks, Shamia died in her mother's
federally subsidized apartment at the Harbor Village Apartments
in Aurora.
The
Kane County death certificate indicated Shamia died from respiratory
syncytial virus, or RSV, a condition that is the most common cause
of bronchitis and pneumonia in babies, according to medical journals.
James
now believes that cold, damp and moldy conditions in her apartment
caused or contributed to her daughter's death. "Her legs
would be ice cold because it was so cold in there," she said,
while pointing out apparent mold on the walls of her second apartment
in the complex where she moved in February 2000.
She
hopes to become part of a federal lawsuit, which plaintiffs are
seeking to make a class action, that was filed in November against
Midland Management Co. and Kenneth Ringbloom. He is the beneficiary
of a trust that owns Midland, which owns and manages Harbor Village.
City
inspectors have cited Midland in the past for water leaks, seepage
and moldy conditions, according to inspection reports. These conditions
are the primary cause of residents' health problems, according
to the suit.
"They
have occasionally been written up for property maintenance violations,
but they have always corrected the violations," said Scott
McCleary, assistant corporation counsel for the City of Aurora.
The
suit was filed after a group of housing advocates helped organize
the tenants. The advocates in January formed JUST Housing, a not-for-profit
group that has raised its profile in recent months with community
forums, lobbying for tenants' rights laws and pushing for more
affordable housing--all of which also has shined more light on
the Harbor Village case.
In
a July 10, 2002, letter to Midland attorneys, Aurora Division
of Property Standards Director Mark Anderson and Kane County Environmental
Health Director Fred Carlson noted mold was found in three of
seven apartments inspected a month earlier. They suggested the
air quality at the complex be analyzed to consider "any required
remediation."
But
Midland denies the presence of hazardous molds in the apartments.
"There has been no evidence to support [the federal suit's]
allegations that there is abnormal or dangerous levels of mold
at Harbor Village," said Katherine Smith Dedrick, one of
Midland's attorneys.
The
federal action is an outgrowth of an earlier suit filed in Kane
County Circuit Court making similar allegations. In that case,
Dedrick said, tenants were allowed to test conditions in 12 apartments
using experts of their choice, and nothing was found that would
indicate hazardous conditions, she said.
But
attorneys for the plaintiffs dispute that assessment, claiming
hazardous molds--some of which have been implicated in RSV and
other ailments--were found. Believing further testing was needed,
the tenants withdrew the suit after a judge issued a temporary
restraining order preventing Midland from doing any mold cleanup
until testing was done.
The
tenants decided their case was best pursued in federal court because
"they really felt they were being discriminated against because
of their race, sex and economic status," said Cynthia Ralls,
co-founder of JUST Housing and an advocate for the tenants.
Most
tenants, according to the suit, are single African-American women
and their children who are receiving Section 8 housing subsidies
from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to live
in the 108-unit complex on the city's southeast side.
Because
HUD standards require housing supported with federal funds be
"decent, safe and sanitary," and other federal laws
include similar requirements, the case is a federal issue, the
suit states. In addition, federal civil rights have been violated
because Midland has not properly addressed the water and mold
issues, the suit says.
The
suit says Midland has been informed by tenants of problems caused
by water seepage and leaking, resulting in mold and "improper
and inadequate heating, ventilation and air conditioning"
since at least 1990, but has failed to solve the problem.
It
further states that Midland has either threatened to evict or
evicted tenants who have complained to various government authorities
about problems at the complex.
In
addition to seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages, the
suit seeks court orders to stop Midland "from spoiling or
altering evidence" at the complex, to make Midland allow
inspections and testing, and force Midland to pay for medical
testing for residents.
The
suit, now before U.S. District Court Judge Wayne Andersen, was
filed on behalf of Dredia Ross White and her three minor children.
White, who moved into the complex in 1989, said recently that
a dark rash on her body was caused by the mold and said her 5-year-old
and 17-year-old sons also were suffering injuries from the conditions.
If
given class-action status, about 168 past and current tenants
would become plaintiffs in the suit, it states.
Midland
is seeking to have the federal suit dismissed, saying no federal
laws cited by White would give the federal courts jurisdiction
over the issue. The matter belongs in state court, the motion
states.
There's
no proof the plaintiffs are being treated any differently than
"similarly situated" Caucasian tenants, according to
Midland's motion. It says the suit's claim that white Midland
tenants living in other complexes who are not receiving Section
8 funds are living in better maintained apartments is like "comparing
apples to oranges."
The
motion also says the two-year statute of limitations has run out
for White to file a complaint because it's been more than 2 years
since she first complained about mold, and it notes that although
she said she had been threatened with eviction for complaining,
she has not been evicted.
James
said she did not suspect her living conditions in her daughter's
death until her 1-year-old son became sick in February and it
was determined he too had RSV. "I didn't know anything about
this stuff," she said.
She
then talked to other tenants and Ralls and came to the conclusion
that mold in her apartment caused the maladies suffered by her
daughter and son.
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