Posted on: Thursday, September 5, 2002

Former tenant sues over mold illness

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

A man who believes that a moldy central air-conditioning system at a Waikiki condominium caused him to develop a serious respiratory ailment after living there just one month in 1999 is suing his former landlord and the condo's board of directors, claiming their negligence led to his health problems.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Kenneth Wachi by Honolulu attorney Roy Chang, claims apartment owner Rose Sherlane Dick, who rented her apartment to Wachi in April 1999, and the Association of Apartment Owners of the Four Paddle condominium on Kuhio Avenue were negligent for not ensuring the building's air-conditioning system was free of environmental contaminants.

Dick could not be reached yesterday to comment on the lawsuit. William Denison, of the W.E. Denison Corp., which is the managing agent for the Four Paddle owners' association, said the matter has been referred to the condominium's insurance carrier, which will forward it to an attorney.

"We don't have a formal response yet," Denison said.

While property-damage lawsuits have been filed in Hawai'i related to mold infestation problems, Chang said he believes the court action he filed on Wachi's behalf is the first personal injury lawsuit in the wake of national media coverage of the problem and local media coverage of a mold problem that forced the closure of a residential tower at Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Wachi's lawsuit seeks monetary damages, with the amount to be determined at trial.

Chang yesterday said that Wachi, who is a medical doctor, was raised in Hawai'i and lived on the Mainland before returning to Hawai'i and renting apartment 1603 at the Four Paddle condominium.

He said Wachi moved in April 1, 1999, and moved out May 2, 1999 after coming down with asthmalike symptoms that he said were related to living in the apartment he had just moved into.

He said Wachi was treated for his symptoms for more than two years but they never went away.

In June 2001, after a culture was done, it was determined that a fungus was irritating his bronchial passages and lungs, Chang said.

He said Wachi, who is now in his early 50s, claims he saw mold or fungus growing on the air-conditioning grates in his rented apartment. If the case goes to trial, Chang said he plans to be able to show that the mold or fungus on the air-conditioning vents is the same type that caused Wachi's health problems.