Tom Berger and Lía Sibrian recently defended a breach of contract claim and negligence claim where a plaintiff aggressively sought between $7,000,000 to $8,000,000 due to mold exposure resulting in personal injuries and property damages.

The claim originated from a rental unit in West Palm Beach. The plaintiff frequently traveled for work for weeks at a time. Upon returning home from two of these absences, she discovered mold growing in her unit and on her personal property. The trial focused on determining responsibility for the mold and potential personal injuries resulting from it.

Each time the plaintiff reported mold, the management company promptly responded to the complaints and mitigated the issue. The plaintiff alleged that the management company's subpar maintenance led to the initial mold creation and subsequent exposure due to their failure to rectify the issue.

The mold allegedly caused the plaintiff to develop substantial illnesses affecting multiple organ systems. While sympathy was invoked by the plaintiff in various ways, the plaintiff's expert claimed that the plaintiff would consistently miscarry due to the body's reaction to foreign bodies resulting from mold exposure.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defense, finding that the defendants—the landlord and property manager—were not negligent in allowing the mold to develop in the unit.

About Thomas A. Berger

Tom Berger maintains a general practice that provides him with a broad range of legal insight into claims disputes involving Florida insurers and their insureds.

Tom is an experienced trial attorney who has tried in state court and he has mediated settlements from Fort Pierce to Key West, including the counties of St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe. He has also argued appeals before the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals.

His work in auto cases includes the defense of bodily injury and uninsured motorist claims. His experience with slip and fall injury cases includes a range of premises situations in retail, restaurant or other business properties. Product liability claims handled by Tom include power saws and other industrial or construction equipment.

In the area of construction defects, he represents general contractors and subcontractors in all aspects of construction from watertight issues to roofing, railings, doors and housing substructures. Many of the disputes he has handled involve high-end residential projects, including one property valued at $40 million. He has tried 4 construction cases to verdict.

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About Lía N. Sibrian

Lía N. Sibrian, a Los Angeles native, initially became involved in capital improvement and repair projects in 2014 when she worked for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (“HACLA”), one of the nation’s largest public housing authorities with a citywide portfolio of approximately 9,355 household units. Over at HACLA, Lía helped maintain the inventory levels of affordable housing by collaboratively working alongside project managers, architects, engineers, contractors, vendors, and professionals at the Los Angeles Building and Safety Department to ensure that construction projects were fully complied with and timely completed.

In 2016, Lía moved to Orlando, Florida. Since her time in Florida, Lía has passionately continued to dedicate her time and efforts in helping community residents. While in law school, for example, she helped maintain the integrity and value of several home and condominium community associations throughout Central Florida by enforcing community association codes and advising community associations on any Florida Building Code violations. She also assisted in the urban planning and development matters of Seminole County when she was a legal extern at the Seminole County Attorney’s Office. Additionally, Lía also has experience with property damage claims. When homes were affected by severe storms and/or hurricanes, she helped homeowners bring back their home to its pre-loss condition. Lía’s extensive experience in construction law renders her uniquely qualified to handle any construction issues encountered by her clients.

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