Court dismisses $30M Airmont 'mold suit'

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Court dismisses $30M Airmont 'mold suit'

By DAVID SCHEPP

THE JOURNAL NEWS

NY

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20061018/NEWS03/610180347/1019/NEWS03

(Original publication: October 18, 2006)

NEW CITY - A state Supreme Court judge has dismissed a $30 million

lawsuit brought by newlyweds against several parties involved in the

purchase of an Airmont house later determined to be infested with

mold, according to court filings.

Optometrist Ira Clement, who along with his wife, , bought the

home nearly three years ago, expressed shock at the outcome when

reached by phone yesterday at his Suffern office.

" I don't believe it, " he said. " We were sold a $430,000 lemon that

is worthless now. "

Clement said he hadn't heard of the judge's decisions, which was to

dismiss all claims against each defendant in the lawsuit.

" This is definitely an appeal, " said H. Appel, the Clements'

attorney.

The Clements bought the green, two-level home in November 2003 as a

wedding gift to themselves, according to the lawsuit filed in

February. They immediately began seeing signs of a problem that

later was determined to be mold infestation.

The suit further claimed that exposure to the mold led to chronic

health problems, which, Ira Clement said yesterday, continue to this

day.

The house remains uninhabitable, he said, and the couple still lives

in a Suffern apartment unsure of what to do next.

The Clements' experience is an example of " buyer beware, " said real

estate attorney Zelmanow, one of seven defendants named in the

suit.

Ira Clement's decision to purchase the home was driven more by

emotion than due diligence, Zelmanow said.

" Anything that was there was there before the closing, " he said.

The home's previous owners and Shovlin, whose last

known addresses were in Grosse Pointe, Mich., and Freehold, N.J.,

respectively, couldn't be reached yesterday for comment.

Delaney of Delaney Realty Corp. in Suffern said she always

believed the sale had been properly executed.

" Obviously the claim had no merit, and the court agreed with us, "

said Delaney, who helped the Clements find the home.

" The plaintiffs had a shotgun approach and tried to basically sue

everybody tangentially involved, " said White Plains-based attorney

Canter, who represented Arcenio Pena, chief executive at FTF

Inspection Corp., a property-inspection business.

He hoped his client's reputation hadn't been aversely affected by

the lawsuit, Canter said. " It was baseless to begin with. "

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