RICHMOND - After four years of pleading with her property manager to fix a leaky roof, Richmond resident Talitha Winn had had enough.
 
Winn's Coronado neighborhood home smelled of dampness and mildew. Her 8-year-old daughter, Mi' Jae', had been to the hospital eight times for upper respiratory infections most likely caused by a black mold, her attorney, Markus Willoughby, said.
 
Willoughby filed a lawsuit Monday in Contra Costa County Superior Court against property owner Leonard Patterson and Gene and Ray Smith of Professional Property Management in El Sobrante. The property at 1235 Florida Ave. was uninhabitable due to the water-damaged walls, floors, carpets and light fixtures, according to the lawsuit.
 
In addition, the suit claims the air was contaminated by airborne mold spores that caused both Winn and her daughter to seek medical attention for respiratory and skin problems.
 
A report prepared by Bay Mold Inspections as part of the lawsuit indicates that a mold known as aspergillus was growing in nearly every room. According to the report, aspergillus mold aggravates allergies and is associated with invasive diseases such as nasal sinus lesions, "swimmer's ear" and "farmer's lung."
 
The report also found that Winn's belongings were contaminated. Based on the report, her attorney advised her to destroy all of her bedding, pillows and about 30 stuffed animals that belonged to her daughter.
 
"This whole experience has been terrible," said Winn, who is staying in a local motel until she can find another home. "Me and my daughter had to step over buckets, pans and soaking wet towels anytime it rained."
 
According to the suit, Winn had repeatedly called Professional Property Management and asked them to do something about the roof. Most often she was put off or told by property manager Gene Smith that it was a bad time to call, Winn said.
 
In 2002, Professional Property Management covered the roof with a plastic tarp, according to the lawsuit. Even though the tarp was ineffective, the lawsuit claims, it remained on the roof for three years until it was completely tattered and frayed, at which point it was replaced by another tarp.
Neither Gene nor Ray Smith returned numerous calls made during the past three weeks.
 
Winn, who receives rental assistance through the Richmond Housing Authority, said she was reluctant to complain about the roof to the housing authority or the city.
 
"It took me and my daughter a long time to find that place and we had nowhere else to go," said Winn, who works as an SBC administrative assistant. "I was afraid."
 
But Winn became fed up in June and began calling the Richmond Housing Authority and the city's building regulation department. But she didn't get any action until she contacted the tenants advocacy group Housing Rights office in Richmond.
 
The Richmond Housing Authority finally took the home off of its list of rental properties and the city has moved to take Patterson's certificate of occupancy away, which would make it illegal for him to rent the home to someone else.
Mayor Irma Anderson has been working with Winn to help her find another home for her and her daughter. The mayor's office and the Richmond Housing Authority have located a place for her in Richmond, but Winn said she wants to live somewhere else.
 
"There's too many people who do just what they want to and nobody wants to follow the rules," she said.
 

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