The story provided below comes from Annapolis, Maryland today on Yahoo! News. We have mentioned many times on this blog that litigation will be increasing due to bed bugs and that landlords and property managers will need to have action plans in place to protect themselves from costly judgements. This story highlights the need that exists today to take proactive measures in documenting a building or a unit's bed bug history (whether or not bed bugs are found).
The tenant in this story today was awarded $800,000 by a jury, $150,000 for loss and damages to her personal property and a whopping $650,000 in punitive damages! This is a hefty loss that could have been avoided. While the landlord in this case showed negligence in addressing the problems he certainly knew existed, landlords who are diligent in managing their properties are not immune from these kinds of lawsuits. Bed bugs can appear suddenly at anytime and lawsuits are sure to follow, especially after big awards such as these become more common in the news.
If you are a property owner, manager or real estate professional, using the services of a bed bug scent detection dog gives you dated, detailed documentation about the inspection results. These inspection reports can be invaluable in proving due diligence in a court of law.
Example of an Inspection Report, used by Kilohana K9s.
Aside from expensive treatments for bed bugs by a pest exterminator when bed bugs may not even be present, sweeps by a scent detection dog is currently the only way to show efforts to keep a property free of bed bugs on a regular basis. Keep your records in order and keep yourself free from exorbitant judgements against you!
Landlord Ordered to Pay Tenant $800K Over Bedbug Infestation
By Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine | Healthy Living –
Faika Shaaban started itching the same day she moved into her new apartment in Annapolis, Maryland, in September 2011. Later that day, she noticed a rash. Soon,
By Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine | Healthy Living –
Faika Shaaban started itching the same day she moved into her new apartment in Annapolis, Maryland, in September 2011. Later that day, she noticed a rash. Soon,
her body was covered
with hundreds of painful bites, scabs, and welts, all from the
bedbugs she didn't even know were all over her home.
She asked her landlord, Cornelius J. Barrett, what could be causing the horrible rash,
and he allegedly told her that he had no idea. It wasn't until months later, when she
went to county housing officials to try to find a new place to live, that she learned
that the bites were from bedbugs.
Last week, a Maryland court ruled that Barrett had known about the bedbug
infestation all along—even before he rented the apartment at 1000 West Street
to Shaaban, now 69. After deliberating for just 45 minutes, the jury awarded
Shaaban $800,000 in damages—more than twice the amount she had requested.
"The jury was asked to send a message," her lawyer, Daniel W. Whitney, told
the Capital Gazette. "I think they have."
bedbugs she didn't even know were all over her home.
She asked her landlord, Cornelius J. Barrett, what could be causing the horrible rash,
and he allegedly told her that he had no idea. It wasn't until months later, when she
went to county housing officials to try to find a new place to live, that she learned
that the bites were from bedbugs.
Last week, a Maryland court ruled that Barrett had known about the bedbug
infestation all along—even before he rented the apartment at 1000 West Street
to Shaaban, now 69. After deliberating for just 45 minutes, the jury awarded
Shaaban $800,000 in damages—more than twice the amount she had requested.
"The jury was asked to send a message," her lawyer, Daniel W. Whitney, told
the Capital Gazette. "I think they have."
Bedbugs aren't simply a local problem. According to the National Pest
Management Association (NPMA), 99.6 percent of pest-management
professionals in the United States have dealt with bedbugs in the past year.
That's up from just 25 percent back in 2000. Bedbugs are tiny bloodsucking bugs
that feed at night. They can hide in mattresses, box springs, furniture, clothing, and
bedding, and can live inside the floors and walls of an infested home. Travelers may inadvertently pick them up in a hotel room and bring them home. Signs of a bedbug infestation include dark spots or rusty-looking stains on sheets and mattresses, tiny
white eggs and shells, and flakes of bug skins. If moving into a furnished hotel or
apartment, its important to inspect the mattress, especially along the seams, as
well as upholstered furniture. However, they can survive on hard surfaces—like
that feed at night. They can hide in mattresses, box springs, furniture, clothing, and
bedding, and can live inside the floors and walls of an infested home. Travelers may inadvertently pick them up in a hotel room and bring them home. Signs of a bedbug infestation include dark spots or rusty-looking stains on sheets and mattresses, tiny
white eggs and shells, and flakes of bug skins. If moving into a furnished hotel or
apartment, its important to inspect the mattress, especially along the seams, as
well as upholstered furniture. However, they can survive on hard surfaces—like
cracks in a headboard or even in a tool box—as well as on soft, fluffy ones.
"Controlling, let alone eradicating, this pest is extremely difficult," the NPMA
says on its website. Bedbug traps exist, but are rarely enough to stop an infestation
from getting worse. Bedbug-infested homes must be steam-cleaned and vacuumed repeatedly but, even then, bedbugs can cling to rough surfaces, and vacuuming with
a regular household machine can actually spread the bugs from one area to another.
After she fled the bug-infested home, Whitney said, her landlord put all of her
belongings, including displays and inventory for her small business, out on the curb.
By the time she was able to come to retrieve her stuff, most of it had been stolen,
spreading the infestation to wherever the goods ended up."She lost practically
everything due to this," Whitney told the Baltimore Sun.
About $150,000 of the award was compensation for her lost and damaged belongings.
"Controlling, let alone eradicating, this pest is extremely difficult," the NPMA
says on its website. Bedbug traps exist, but are rarely enough to stop an infestation
from getting worse. Bedbug-infested homes must be steam-cleaned and vacuumed repeatedly but, even then, bedbugs can cling to rough surfaces, and vacuuming with
a regular household machine can actually spread the bugs from one area to another.
After she fled the bug-infested home, Whitney said, her landlord put all of her
belongings, including displays and inventory for her small business, out on the curb.
By the time she was able to come to retrieve her stuff, most of it had been stolen,
spreading the infestation to wherever the goods ended up."She lost practically
everything due to this," Whitney told the Baltimore Sun.
About $150,000 of the award was compensation for her lost and damaged belongings.
The
rest—$650,000—was in punitive damages, aimed at making other landlords
think twice before foisting a problem apartment off on an unsuspecting occupant.
It's one of the largest awards in history, more than three times the amount given to
another Maryland woman who, in 2010, was awarded $250,000 after her son's
new bunk beds were found to be filled with bedbugs.
According to city records, Barrett had not responded to a previous tenant's complaint
about bedbugs. The Baltimore Sun points out that city records show that Barrett
had been notified of both a bedbug infestation and a mouse infestation more than
a month before he rented the apartment to Shaaban, but he did not disclose that to
her when she signed the lease. The city records show that he was "taking steps
to remedy" the bedbug and mouse problems.
But instead of calling in a professional pest-control service, as he had been
ordered to do by city officials, Barrett opted to try a few home remedies instead,
which made the problem worse.
"He defies the order of the city," Whitney told the Capital Gazette. "He decides
to pick up some propane heaters and do it [himself], not knowing what he's doing.
The bedbugs move away from the heat and that night she wakes up and they
[bedbugs] have basically invaded her bedroom."
Calls to Barrett's home went unanswered. Shaaban is now living elsewhere in
think twice before foisting a problem apartment off on an unsuspecting occupant.
It's one of the largest awards in history, more than three times the amount given to
another Maryland woman who, in 2010, was awarded $250,000 after her son's
new bunk beds were found to be filled with bedbugs.
According to city records, Barrett had not responded to a previous tenant's complaint
about bedbugs. The Baltimore Sun points out that city records show that Barrett
had been notified of both a bedbug infestation and a mouse infestation more than
a month before he rented the apartment to Shaaban, but he did not disclose that to
her when she signed the lease. The city records show that he was "taking steps
to remedy" the bedbug and mouse problems.
But instead of calling in a professional pest-control service, as he had been
ordered to do by city officials, Barrett opted to try a few home remedies instead,
which made the problem worse.
"He defies the order of the city," Whitney told the Capital Gazette. "He decides
to pick up some propane heaters and do it [himself], not knowing what he's doing.
The bedbugs move away from the heat and that night she wakes up and they
[bedbugs] have basically invaded her bedroom."
Calls to Barrett's home went unanswered. Shaaban is now living elsewhere in
Anne Arundel County, Maryland, in an apartment that is bedbug-free;
Whitney said that she does not want to be interviewed.
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