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Press Release
Source: Wentworth, Paoli & Purdy
Local Family Settles Water Damage/Mold Claim for $392,500.00
Wednesday September 22, 12:00 pm ET
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Court B. Purdy and William M. Paoli, partners with the firm of Wentworth, Paoli & Purdy located in Newport Beach represented an Orange County family who became ill as a result of exposure to toxic mold and other biological contaminants in their home. Today, it was announced that the case has settled for a total of $392,500.00.
Attorneys Purdy and Paoli represented Joanne Miller, her two children (Ryan and Allison) and niece, Hayley Smith, in a lawsuit against the owner of their apartment complex (The Palm Garden Apartments Limited Partnership), and the Property Manager (Apartment Management Consultants, LLC). This firm, which specialized in water damage/mold litigation, had previously represented another family who had resided in this apartment complex and who had suffered from the same practice of deferred maintenance by the owner and subsequent exposure and injuries as the Miller family. (See, Sienkiewicz, et al. v. Palm Garden Apartments Limited Partnership, et al., Case No. 01CC00072, Orange County Superior Court).
The Miller family first moved into the Palm Garden Apartments in Fullerton in October 2000.
Soon thereafter, they began to have chronic instances of water intrusion which resulted in mold growth, amplified dust mites and musty smells. The family's health progressively got worse during the tenancy without knowing the cause of their injuries. Eventually, they all developed respiratory conditions, including asthma, allergies and other symptoms. Ultimately, the Millers had to move out of the house because of the Defendants' failure to remediate the mold growth and eliminate the moisture causing it.
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The lawsuit was filed in Superior Court in Orange County before Judge Robert H. Gallivan. The Miller family, including Hayley Smith, settled at a mediation before Judge Russell Bostrom and the settlement was recently approved by the Probate Court. The settlement resolves all claims of the Plaintiffs and a significant portion of the money was used to purchase annuities to protect the children. Regarding the settlement, Purdy stated, "We are quite happy with the settlement as it compensates our clients for the ordeal they had to go through and guarantees the children and Joanne will have the ability to pay for future medical care. We also hope that this settlement sends a signal to the owner of the Palm Garden Apartment along with landlords and property managers in general to treat water damage and mold growth issues seriously and to remedy these kind of problems quickly so that children and adults alike will not be made sick in the future."
For additional information, you can contact: Counsel for Plaintiffs, Court B. Purdy, Esq., Wentworth, Paoli and Purdy, 4631 Teller Avenue, Suite 100, Newport Beach, CA 92660, telephone number (949) 752-7711, fax number (949) 752-8339, www.wpptriallawyers.com; Counsel for Defendant, Palm Garden Apartments, James McKanna, Esq., harrington, Fox, Dubrow & Canter, 1100 Town Country Road, Suite 1020, Orange, CA 92868, telephone number (714) 973-4595, facsimile (714) 973-7923; Counsel for Defendant, Apartment Management Consultants, Jeffrey Milam, Esq., Milam & Larsen, 234 East Colorado Blvd., Suite 620, Pasadena, CA 91101-2210.
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