Bridgewater case of mold-infested home goes to mediation

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Bridgewater case of mold-infested home goes to mediation

Thursday, October 09, 2008

The Star-Ledger - NJ.com - Newark,NJ*

BY RALPH R. ORTEGAStar-Ledger Staff

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/somerset/index.ssf?/base/news-

3/1223525982309170.xml & coll=1

A Bridgewater woman who unsuccessfully sought more than $400,000 in

affordable housing funds to rebuild her mold-infested house after a

township contractor botched a cleanup of the property won't sue the

town, her lawyer said yesterday.

Instead, the lawyer representing Elliott in a civil suit she

filed over the summer against neighbors whom she now blames for

creating water runoff that caused the mold infestation said he hopes

the town will work with his client to resolve the matter.

Attorney Dougherty expressed hope that Bridgewater officials

will resurrect a stormwater drainage project that will eliminate the

water running down Lane onto his client's house for years.

Dougherty said attorneys for the township are expected to join all

the parties in Elliott's complaint at a meeting with a court-

appointed mediator in Newark tomorrow for the purpose of trying to

resolve the mold case.

Dougherty said naming the township as a defendant in the suit, filed

in September 2007, was not necessarily the way to get the township's

cooperation. " It's much better to talk to them, rather than to sue

them, " he said.

Elliott originally blamed town officials for allowing the runoff on

Lane that began saturating her two-story home a decade ago.

Mold developed, and exposure to the infestation sickened Elliott,

she told The Star-Ledger in an interview last year.

Elliott, a real estate agent, claimed she was unable to work as much

because of her health problems, which reduced her income. The

earnings loss made her eligible for assistance from the township's

affordable housing fund, which released $146,335 to remove the

infestation.

A contractor, Mr. Mold, was hired but was accused of doing shoddy

work and ruining the home, according to township officials.

Bridgewater sought even more affordable housing money to raze the

old home and build Elliott a new one after she threatened to sue for

damages that were estimated at about $1 million.

The state Council on Affordable Housing, however, put a stop to the

plan, which would have given Elliott as much as $411,000, after a

story appeared in The Star-Ledger in April 2007.

Elliott in her lawsuit now seeks to hold her neighbors, and

Martha Eckert, responsible. Elliott claimed the couple filled in

swales along their property, which brought the runoff onto her

property.

The Eckerts, who denied they are responsible for the problem,

responded by filing claims against the township and Mr. Mold. The

township also has already intervened as a third party in the case,

seeking to hold Mr. Mold accountable.

Attorneys for the township, the Eckerts and Mr. Mold were not

immediately available for comment yesterday. Dougherty said all the

parties met for a voluntary meeting at the site Friday. The 2 1/2-

hour study of damages and runoff problems set the stage for the

mediator in Newark tomorrow, Dougherty said.

He was cautiously optimistic that the meeting may result in a

settlement of the case.

" Hope springs eternal, " he said.

Ralph R. Ortega may be reached at rortega@... or (973)

951-3816.