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TAMPA - A Tampa woman sued a waterfront luxury apartment complex for allegedly ignoring mold growth in her apartment, according to a complaint filed on April 5 in the Hillsborough County Circuit Court.
Plaintiff Erin Hendrickson moved into the Post Harbour Place Apartments owned by defendant Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. in 2017.
In the summer through fall of 2018, Hendrickson says she reported two instances of a dripping noise in her air conditioning unit after it was shut off.
By September of 2018, Hendrickson suspected mold was growing in her apartment's A/C vents and reported it to the management, the suit says.
While the work orders were marked as completed by the defendants, the maintenance records indicate that no work was actually done, the suit says. Moisture and mold in Hendrickson's A/C vents increased into 2019, she says.
It wasn't until more than a year after Hendrickson's initial report of mold and moisture when the condition had spread so severely that mold was found on the plaintiff's shoes that the defendant ordered service and replacement of Hendrickson's air conditioner, the suit says.
Despite this, the defendant allegedly denied there was a mold infestation. As Hendrickson's health became affected by the mold and the clothing in her dresser became moldy she notified the defendants of the termination of her lease, the suit says.
A certified mold assessment confirmed the infestation, the suit says. The defendant is charged with negligence, material noncompliance and breach of implied warrantee of habitability, promissory estoppel and detrimental reliance.
Hendrickson is represented by Thompson Miller PA of Clearwater.