Court Rejects Tenant's Claims Based on 'Typical' Mold Levels

LAWRENCE, Mass. - A Massachusetts appellate court has rejected a tenant's counterclaim for compensatory and punitive damages and affirmed summary judgment on the landlord's claim for possession, saying that environmental testing did not reveal mold levels that would make the rental unit uninhabitable. Avalon Oaks v. King, et al., No. 07-ADMS-10042 (Mass. App. Div., N. Dist.).

Appellate Division Justice Mark S. Coven on Nov. 14 affirmed a District Court decision in favor of Avalon Oaks and against Susan King, who had withheld rent for two years based on air sampling that indicated the presence of various types of mold.

In …