Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Landlord and mold

Your insurance company will go after the management company's insurance company by way of subrogation. Consult your insurance carrier before any possible disclosure to the tenant.

Re: Landlord and mold

Several things come to mind. First thought is that handling this mess is an appropriate task for your insurance carrier's lawyers. The very first step is to give your agent a complete report.

Next thought that comes to mind is a possible partial defense. I believe a tenant is supposed to report problems of this nature to the landlord (or the landlord's agent, the management company.

Tenants who run to the city building department without notifying the landlord are an alarm signal. Are you sure you got NO notice? I'd be concerned that this tenant may have a big "toxic mold" judgment in mind. Take this matter seriously.

If you have to sue, or to defend and cross-complain, you should go after the management company and the individual employee (and his employer, if any). The thing to hope for here is that your insurance will assume the defense or press the claim or both.

Re: Landlord and mold

You say "hired a negligent worker" -- was this an insured, licensed and bonded contractor or handyman or someone else? You state that she was "exposed" to mold, but just because there was mold in the ceiling does not mean she was necessarily "exposed." (Don�t help her prove her case, especially since it is not clear to me there was exposure.) As mold experts will tell you, mold spores are ubiquitous and the problem is not simply a matter of being near mold (particularly where you believe the mold had existed for only 1 to 3 days -- that can be the kind of "exposure" you get when you don't clean your shower for a few weeks). Keep in mind that she will need damages to have a legitimate claim (but some insurance companies will pay off on these types of claims even when the case is very defensible).

Now may be a good time to get together with your attorney to review your business (including, among other things, the management contract and your lease) to make sure you are as protected as you should be.