The Issue
Mrs. Brown called me to ask for advice. I asked her how old she was and she told me, “Seventy-two and feeling very young.” What a sweet woman. She had made Aliyah with her husband, who died two years later. Mrs. Brown was alone, living in a rented apartment. Now, she was having serious problems with mold. Yes, mold – that old and well-known problem we’ve heard about so often.
Mrs. Brown, obviously an intelligent person, asked me if I could refer her to an engineer to write a report regarding the increasing mold problem that she had in her apartment. She wanted an engineer to write an opinion attesting that the mold was toxic and was causing her serious health problems. She wanted all this for free, of course.
Information About Mold
Mold is a common problem that affects half of the proprieties in Israel. Unfortunately, most of these properties are rentals – so why should a landlord care, right?
You can learn more about mold here.
Mold can be easily cleaned and removed, as well as prevented. You must ventilate the area, especially in the winter. The more fresh air that comes in, the less mold you will have. Mold is easy to clean. Here are some effective suggestions:
- Use a mold and mildew solution such as Clorox, Safety Clean, Lysol, Super Clean or X-14
- Create a bleach disinfectant with 1 cup of bleach to 10 cups of water
- Mix 1/2 gallon of white vinegar with 1/2 gallon of hydrogen peroxide and 1 cup boric acid. Shake well and spray the area.
Read more about what chemicals kill mold.
Back to Our Story
I told sweet Mrs. Brown that expertise of this nature would be very expensive. In addition to the professional opinion, she would also need a physician to certify a direct connection between her poor health condition and the mold in the apartment. This was all done (for around $2,000).
Mrs. Brown could now find a good lawyer in the field and sue the landlord. But wait – not that fast! Mrs. Brown would also have to prove that she did all that she could as a reasonable person to minimize the damages, such as alerting the landlord (the burden of the proof would be on her shoulders as a plaintiff) and proving she was a reasonable tenant – not one who never opens a window in the house. As you can see, this would not be so easy.
There is a better and easier solution before you go that far. Call us and let us try to solve the problem in a must faster and effective way – for free! We prefer to speak with the landlord and explain the problem and the consequences of the mold.
It is almost always possible to find a quick solution. If the landlord refuses to talk with us, we will send a letter warning him/her that a refusal to solve the problem will be considered as a breach of contract. If nothing happens and he/she persists on the refusal to fix the problem, we will advise the tenant to move out.
So far, we have had a good rate of success staying out of court rooms. We can’t always promise a tenant moving out that he will not be considered as breaching the contract, but we can assure you that in this instance his chances of winning the case would be excellent.
This is the reality – and trying to impose your demands on the Israeli legal reality will end in disaster.
The Case of the Pipes
Mr. and Mrs. Cohen were very upset about their landlord’s approach to all their complaints. The landlord refused to send a plumber every time they had a clog, the shower wasn’t working properly, the air conditioning wasn’t cooling fast enough and the mold in the bathroom ceiling was really annoying. As a result, they sought legal advice from a lawyer. They paid him $150 for a long letter explaining all the problems and why the landlord was being held responsible. After receiving the lawyer’s letter, the landlord consulted with his own lawyer and the answer the Cohens received was a few short lines, saying that they could sue if they wanted.
The Cohens came to me, explaining that they were willing to pay for a law suit and representation in court. After listening to them and neutralizing their emotions (about 70% was pure emotions), I suggested a better way to them. I would call the landlord’s lawyers and try to reach a settlement for the supposed legal dispute, letting all the emotions aside.
The Cohens were hurt and angry. As we know, anger is a very bad “decision maker.” Thus, they would not accept anything but full compensation, including for pain and suffering. I decided not to the take the case and let them find a more appropriate lawyer to represent them. They were very offended and left the office in turmoil, claiming I had wasted their time. I tried to explain that they didn’t have a case and that they were wasting their time and money. Of course, they wouldn’t listen. They knew better.
A year later, Mrs. Cohen called me to ask for my advice (!) regarding a proposal from the judge in the case. After spending $1,500 in lawyers and expertise, they were being offered $1,000 in compensation. In Israel, we call this “Dmei Mitrad”, which is an amount that the judge will grant not to send the plaintiff away empty-handed. My answer was, “Grab it with both hands, go home and forget all about the case.”
Mrs. Cohen accepted my advice, but Mr. Cohen – as I learned later – did not. The judge ruled against the landlord, but the amount granted to the plaintiff was down to $650. As far as I know, Mrs. Cohen is very angry at her husband and cannot accept his stubbornness about the situation.
We lawyers should be able to analyze a case presented to us after neutralizing the emotions involved. In failing to do so, we are misleading the client – even if the price is to disappoint and possibly lose a potential client. We, as professionals, can predict the results of a claim such as the one presented by the Cohens.
The judge had ruled against the Cohens because they failed to prove that the clogs were not their fault. In my opinion, this ruling was right according to the facts presented: the Cohens had seven clogs in a three-month period, all taken care of by the landlord, who provided a clear and decisive statement from the plumber, which indicated that there was nothing wrong with the pipes.
Conclusion
The fastest and most productive way to resolve a dispute is not in the court room, but with compromise and common sense without emotions.
