August 9, 2002 - Attorney Court B. Purdy of
Newport Beach (along with Co-Counsel Jeffrey F. LaFave of San Diego)
represented an Orange County family who became ill as a result of exposure to
toxic mold in their home. Today, Purdy and LaFave announced that the case has
settled for a total of $900,000.00.
Purdy and LaFave represented Melissa Celmer and her three boys (Jacob,
Kyle and Casey) in a lawsuit against the former owner of their apartment
complex (Robert and Helen Kotob of Los Angeles), the current owner of the
complex (KDF North Hills of Orange County), the Property Manager (VPM
Incorporated) and the Remediation Contractor (Rainbow Contractors, Inc. of
Orange County).
The Celmer family first moved into the North Hills apartments in Anaheim
in December of 1995. They did not notice any problems for the first couple of
years until water intrusion started to occur which resulted in hidden mold
growth and musty smells. The family became sicker and sicker without knowing
the cause of their injuries and eventually they all developed respiratory
conditions, including asthma, allergies and other symptoms. The mother,
Melissa Celmer, developed the most severe injuries, including serious skin
rashes. Eventually, the Celmers had to move out of the house because of the
Defendants' failure to remediate the mold growth and eliminate the moisture
causing it.
The lawsuit was filed in Superior Court in Orange County before Judge
David C. Velasquez. The Celmers eventually settled at a mediation before
Judge Robert Thomas and the settlement was recently approved by the 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
future medical expenses. Regarding the settlement, LaFave 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 Melissa will have the
ability to pay for future medical care. We also hope that this settlement
sends a signal to landlords and property managers 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; Co-Counsel for Plaintiffs, Jeffrey F. LaFave, Esq., LaFave &
Rice, 2333 1st Ave., Suite 201, San Diego, CA 92101, telephone number
(619) 525-3918, fax number (619)233-5089; Counsel for Defendant, KDF North
Hills, Robert Baker, Esq., McCormick, Siepler & Baker, 500 N. Brand Blvd.,
Suite 500, Glendale, CA 92103, telephone number (818) 224-6600, facsimile
(818) 547-6522; Counsel for Defendant, Rainbow Contractors, Inc., Tom Wilson,
Esq., Pivo Halbreich, Cahill & Yim LLP, 1920 Main St., Suite 800, Irvine, CA
92614, telephone number (949) 253-2000, facsimile (949) 253-2099; and Counsel
for Defendants, Robert and Helen Kotob, Lisa Bondy Dunn, Esq., Wood Smith
Henning & Berman LLP, 801 S. Figueroa St., Suite 900, Los Angeles, CA 90017,
telephone number (213) 622-9300, fax number (213) 622-9394.
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