Jury Sides with Landlords in Negligence Case

by | Apr 2, 2012 | Rental Property Management Tips

Two landlords in Maine have successfully defended a claim that they were at fault for their former tenant’s injury from lead poisoning.

The family alleged that their young son was rendered disabled due to excessive exposure to lead in the apartment that they had rented from the landlords.

But, according to a local news report, the jury was not convinced that the landlords had done anything wrong.

The landlords’ success hinged on their showing that they had done everything reasonably necessary to mitigate lead prior to renting out the property, including:

Re-painting the unit with a durable paint;
Undergoing an inspection; and,
Providing the proper lead disclosures to the parents before the family moved in.

The jury also heard that one of the landlords attended a class on lead in rental properties, according to the report.

The tenants were requesting $11 million in damages.

This post is provided by Tenant Verification Service, Inc., helping landlords reduce the risks of renting with fraud prevention tools that include Tenant Screening, Tenant Background Checks, (U.S. and Canada), as well as Criminal Background Checks, and Eviction Reports (U.S. only).

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this post in not intended to be construed as legal advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for obtaining individual legal counsel or consulting your local, state, federal or provincial tenancy laws.

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