New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, has rejected the claim of a resident in a New York City apartment building that her alleged personal injuries were caused by indoor exposure to dampness and mold. The court found that the plaintiff had not established that the relevant scientific community generally accepted that mold caused the adverse health effects complained of by the plaintiff.
The Case
In a lawsuit Brenda Cornell brought against her landlord and other parties associated with the management of the Manhattan apartment building in which she lived for a number of years, Ms. Cornell alleged that throughout her occupancy the building's “basement was in a wet, damp, musty condition”; that the radiator in her apartment's living room “leaked on numerous occasions” and “continued to leak and also released steam into the Apartment” despite “attempt[s]” at repair; that after she noticed that “there was mold growing in the [apartment's] bathroom,” the owner “ignored” this condition; and that the landlord or its contractor performed “demolition and/or construction [work] in the basement of the Building …, permitting noxious dust, dirt, mold and debris to be released,” which infiltrated her first floor apartment.
Ms. Cornell claimed that “[i]mmediately after” the basement work was performed,
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