Tenant Waited Too Long to Assert Mold Claim

Tenant sued landlord. She claimed that ongoing water leaks in her apartment since 1993 exposed her continuously to toxic mold conditions. She said that this caused her health problems for five years prior to 2001. Tenant claimed that she didn't sue landlord before 2001 because the mold was only discovered that year after boiler repairs worsened the problem. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that it wasn't filed on time. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and won. By law, tenant was required to start her court case against landlord within three years of discovering her illness, regardless of when she learned of the cause. Since tenant discovered her illness five years before she started the case, it was untimely. By law, tenant could only extend the time period to one year after discovering the cause of her illness if she could show that there was no medical or scientific information available to explain what caused her illness during the three years after she discovered her illness. Tenant didn't claim that there was any lack of medical or scientific information about mold being the possible cause of her illness.

Martin v. 159 W. 80 St. Corp.: NYLJ, 1/29/04, p. 26, col. 2 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Nardelli, JP, Saxe, Friedman, Marlow, Gonzalez, JJ)