Baltimore City Circuit Court hits Housing Authority of Baltimore

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Oct 22, 2008 by Barbara Grzincic

The Housing Authority of Baltimore City must pay more than $300,000 to a former tenant whose lung condition was made worse by the presence of hazardous mold in her home.

A jury in Baltimore City Circuit Court deliberated for three hours Monday before awarding Nornita Hyman $3,384 in rental expenses and $300,000 for pain and suffering.

Hyman, 48, lived in the Mount Winans community in South Baltimore between 1999 and May 2006. Mold exacerbated her sarcoidosis, requiring five hospital stays between 2004 and April 2006, said her lawyer, Scott E. Nevin of the Law Offices of Peter T. Nicholl. She moved out at the recommendation of a consulting pulmonologist, who diagnosed her with hypersensitivity pneumonitis, Nevin said.

Hyman's lawsuit sought at least $2 million in damages.

"Their last offer was $25,000," Nevin said. "Our last demand was $198,000."

Carrie Blackburn Riley, who represented the HABC at trial, was not available to comment Tuesday afternoon. The HABC has indicated it will appeal or ask presiding Judge Alfred Nance to set aside the verdict, Nevin said.

Nevin also represented three tenants at a different HABC building, Homewood House, who won a combined $375,000 in damages after they were sickened by mold in their apartments. The Court of Special Appeals affirmed in January.