PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh couple have countered the denials of their Virginia-based landlords, in a case where the plaintiffs allege that faulty wiring nearly caused a fire in the home they rented in Penn Hills.
Kade Gardner and Michael Boyle (individually on behalf of their minor son, M.B.) of Pittsburgh first filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Nov. 16, 2020 versus Daniel J. Alder and Jimmy Doe of Alexandra, Va. and the Daniel & Marie “Bonnie” Alder Joint Revocable Intervivos Trust of Springfield, Va.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs rented a home from the Alder defendants in Penn Hills, while Doe, a handyman though not a licensed electrician, performed maintenance at the property.
“On April 1, 2020, the defendants knew of a leak from the second-floor bathroom onto wiring in the kitchen directly below it. Defendants knew or should have known that all three floors in the home used a single fuse. Defendants Daniel Alder and the Trust hired defendant Doe to repair the problem prior to plaintiffs moving into the property pursuant to the lease. Said lease began on April 1, 2020 and ended on March 31, 2021, with plaintiffs paying $1,095 per month in rent,” the suit stated.
The plaintiffs said they began experiencing electrical problems shortly after moving in and duly notified their landlords of same over the first seven weeks of their stay.
“On May 20, 2020, plaintiffs’ son was showering in the bathroom above plaintiffs’ kitchen. Plaintiff Gardner was preparing dinner in her kitchen and was standing in her living room when she heard several loud pops coming from the outlet in the kitchen. After plaintiffs’ son was finished showering and getting dressed, plaintiff Gardner noticed the kitchen starting to fill with smoke. As the kitchen started filling with smoke, plaintiff Gardner’s eyes began to burn,” per the suit.
“Plaintiff Gardner went downstairs to try to find a source and was unable to find the source of the smoke. Upon returning upstairs, plaintiff Gardner saw smoke coming out of a light switch in the kitchen near the ‘patched’ and repaired wall and smoke coming out of the bathroom vents on the second floor. The fire was caused by the faulty wiring in the kitchen, directly underneath the bathroom, that defendants knew of and permitted to exist and refused to repair.”
As a result, the plaintiffs said they experienced nervousness, stress and anxiety, fear of death, emotional trauma and depression, in addition to post-traumatic stress disorder.
On March 26, 2021, all parties involved mutually agreed to drop the claim for violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
“The defendants, Daniel J. Alder and Daniel and Marie “Bonnie” Alder Joint Revocable Intervivos Trust, by and through their counsel, Korry Alden Greene, Esquire, and plaintiffs, Kade Gardner and Michael Boyle, individually and on behalf of their minor son, M.B., by and through their counsel, Bianca M. DiNardo, Esquire and William F. Goodrich, Esquire, and hereby stipulate and agree that Count IV of the complaint against defendants is dismissed, with prejudice,” the stipulation read.
UPDATE
Counsel for the Alder defendants filed an answer and new matter on Jan. 18, denying the essential allegations of the plaintiffs’ complaint.
“All allegations contained in the complaint that have not been specifically admitted are hereby denied. Plaintiffs are not entitled to any relief sought in their complaint, including in the wherefore clauses of their complaint. The complaint fails to state a cause of action upon which relief can be granted. To the extent any or all of plaintiffs’ medical expenses and/or wage losses have been paid or are payable in accordance with any medical insurance or any other insurance, the plaintiffs are limited and/or barred from recovering these medical expenses and/or wage losses in this action,” the new matter stated, in part.
“On June 1, 2020, Alder returned the plaintiffs’ full security deposit shortly after plaintiffs removed their possessions from the property. On May 26, 2020, Alder and the Trust refunded the prorated portion of the rent paid by plaintiffs for May 2020. Alder permitted plaintiffs to store their personal property in an area of the property that was not damaged by the fire, free of charge. In 2016, an electrical inspector inspected the property’s electrical system in connection with the issuance of an occupancy permit for the property and pursuant to Duquesne Light’s prerequisite conduct or action, to turn the electric on at the property. The municipality issued an occupancy permit for the property. Duquesne Light turned the power on for the property. Plaintiffs never notified defendants of any problems with the property’s electrical system.”
The plaintiffs then filed a response to the new matter on March 10, denying the majority of its contents as nothing more than conclusions of law to which no response was required and demanding strict proof of same at trial.
For multiple counts of negligence, negligent misrepresentation and fraudulent misrepresentation, the plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional arbitration limit plus interest, costs and a trial by jury.
The plaintiffs are represented by Bianca M. DiNardo and William F. Goodrich of Goodrich & Geist, in Pittsburgh.
The defendants are represented by Korry Alden Greene of Cipriani & Werner in Pittsburgh and Joanne L. Parise of Creenan & Baczkowski, in Murrysville.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-20-011796
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com