[WSBAPT] Meth House

[Jim Doran]

Hello Real Property People:

 

I am not sure if this email shouldn’t go to the “torts” section but since
I have always received great feedback from the RPPT section, here goes.

 

Landlord has a house that is typically rented to students near WWU in
Bellingham.  A tenant was arrested at the house and jailed for various
things not including meth use.  The house was vacant for a short time and
then the property manager, the landlord’s agent, re-rented the house to
three young female students.  A few weeks after moving in they all got
sick to varying degrees.  They complained to the manager.  Mold was
suggested but not identified in the house.  My client, one of the tenants,
went to the doctor for respiratory problems. 

 

Then the Cascade Natural Gas repairman went inside and had an immediate
allergic reaction and told the girls that they had better get it checked
out because he thought it was meth-amphetamine residue.  It took several
days to get the health department report back.  It was a very high level
of meth-amphetamine residue.  It took another few days for the girls to
get places to move to while going through finals at the same time.  They
moved out.  The County condemned the property because of the extremely
high level of meth.

 

My client wants her medical bills paid, some compensation for the pain and
suffering, lost wages, rent money and deposits returned  and attorney’s
fees because of the fee term in the Lease Agreement.  The landlord and
property manager say that they did not know there was a meth problem in
the house.  My response has been that the landlord and agent are under a
duty to make sure that the house is safe and that is was their negligence
that subjected my client to the poisoning.    The tenant had no way of
knowing of the meth before moving in.  

 

Doesn’t the landlord, and the landlord’s agent, owe a high duty of care to
the tenant because they are renting the property for profit?  Whether the
landlord or the agent knew of the presence of meth is beside the point.
They want to say, “we didn’t know; it’s not our fault.”  Does anyone have
an opinion on the landlord/agent liability in a case like this?

 

It seems we have a breach of contract case and a negligence/personal
injury case here.

 

James R. Doran

Attorney at Law

100 E. Pine Street – Suite 205

Bellingham, WA 98225

(360)393-9506

jim at doranlegal.com

www.doranlegal.com

 

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