Oakland Tribune
January 24, 2003

Hayward tenants sue their landlord
by Chris De Benedetti

HAYWARD -- After suffering from what she called unhealthy living conditions and sexual harassment, and witnessing instances of racial discrimination by the staff of Park Hill Apartments, Tawney Martin did something that many other low-income tenants cannot afford to do.

She moved out.

But Martin has rejoined current tenants of the Hayward complex by fighting back.

Attorneys filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Park Hill owner Rodney Busk on behalf of 108 plaintiffs -- current and former tenants -- alleging that severely substandard conditions have caused health problems for its residents.

They are seeking more than $5 million in damages.

"There was mold under our carpet that came after a leak in our roof made it wet," said Martin. "We kept complaining about it. It smelled."

Martin, 26, said that while living in her musty apartment for more than two years, her then 2-year-old son developed breathing problems. "One month after (our) moving away, the problems went away and haven't come back," she said.

Joseph Mayer, 16, is another tenant who has had many health problems that he believes stem from the black mold in the apartment he shares with his parents, Steve and Luisa Mayer.

"I have asthma, I've gone to the doctor many times," he said Wednesday. "I use inhalers. I'm up between 1 and 4 a.m. because I have shortness of breath. I get runny noses, stomachaches."

Claudio Bluer, a former Oakland housing inspector employed by the plaintiff's attorneys, said the Mayers' apartment is one of the 10 worst cases of mold he has ever seen.

"Everything has been neglected. Mold has permeated through the sheetrock," said Bluer. "So much water is coming in from all sides, walls will have to be replaced."
All nine of the buildings in the complex have problems, Bluer said, indicating a clear pattern of destruction due to poor maintenance.

Sample tests done by San Francisco-based Indoor Environmental Engineering confirmed that the apartment complex contains the highest levels of toxic molds, said attorney Steven McDonald.

Several phone messages left Wednesday for Busk and his attorney, Carlton Harpst, were not returned.

"The mold is a health threat because once these spores get into lungs, they can take permanent residence," said Bluer. "They can cause asthma, respiratory problems, infections and fatigue."

Tenants also allege that racial discrimination was practiced by Busk.

Busk is accused of having a policy of "keeping the blacks in the back apartments," said San Francisco-based attorney Kenneth Greenstein, who is representing the tenants. "More than one residential manager has testified in a deposition to that."

Martin confirmed that a previous property manager at Park Hill told her that the owner believed that keeping black tenants from white tenants "is better and causes less confrontation, and when you mix them up there's problems."

Martin also said that management was unsympathetic and did little when she complained of being the victim of repeated sexual harassment by one of Park Hill's maintenance staff.

Mike Miller, manager of Park Hill, had no comment when reached Wednesday for his reaction to the tenants' allegations.

Several phone messages left Wednesday for Busk and his attorney, Carlton Harpst, were not returned. A secretary for Harpst's office said the Orange County-based attorney was "too busy to accept phone calls from the press."

Busk, who lives in Siskiyou County near the Oregon-California border, owns several apartment complexes across California, according to McDonald. Park Hill Apartments, on the 22800 block of Vermont Street in Hayward, was built in the 1960s, and Busk is the original owner.

With residents in 109 units paying between $900 and $1,500 per month, McDonald believes Busk likely collects more than $1 million per year from Park Hill tenants, while he puts nominal funds back into the building.

"It's a business practice for him," said McDonald. "(Tenants) pay rent. He ignores their complaints. They pay rent. He ignores them. If they move out, he just re-rents it to a new tenant and puts new paint over the mold. Well, that's not how you remediate mold."

The lawsuit filed Wednesday on behalf of Park Hill residents is the second filed in the case. The first was filed in May 2002. Greenstein and McDonald, the plaintiffs' attorneys, hope to consolidate the two cases into one.

The latest lawsuit claims that the "severe lack of maintenance" has resulted in the unacceptable conditions and code violations, such as massive plumbing and rain water leaks, collapsing ceilings, broken heaters, cockroach and rat infestations and dangerous electrical defects.

In total, Bluer said he has found thousands of code violations at Park Hill from more than 25 recent inspections.

"If (Busk) were the maker of a car, it'd be recalled," McDonald said.