A landlord in Annapolis is banned from renting a building, ordered to pay compensation

Jun 4, 2013 07:41 GMT  ·  By

Ignoring a bedbug infestation for eight months has resulted in a lawsuit and an $800K (€612K) bill for a landlord in Annapolis.

According to The Capital of Annapolis, Cornelius J. Barrett rented an apartment to 66-year-old Faika Shaaban in September 2011, knowing that it was infested.

An Anne Arundel County jury gave cause to the plaintiff, as an open code violation had already been reported when Shaaban moved in. She was not alerted about the bugs.

A complaint about mice in the building filed in August 2011 also showed that rodents were inside the building.

Shaaban first thought that she was suffering from a rash and she took her case to the Anne Arundel County office on April 4, 2012, at which time she found out that she had been bitten by bedbugs.

“Every night, blood-sucking parasites would come into her bed and feed upon her,” her attorney, Daniel Whitney describes.

After an inquiry confirmed the existence of bedbugs, Barrett was cited to bring in a pest control contractor, which he never did.

“He decides to pick up some propane heaters and do it (himself), not knowing what he’s doing.

“The bedbugs move away from the heat and that night she wakes up and they (bedbugs) have basically invaded her bedroom. She sees them and she’s terrified,” Whitney adds.

Shaaban contacted the superintendent of the building about the issue, and he told her that he was aware of it, but that he was banned from disclosing the problem.

Her attempts got the attention of the landlord, who resorted to threats and cut off her water supply.

“He shuts off the hot water to the apartment for about a week. [...] He ratchets it up a step further and shuts off water supply to the apartment,” Whitney explains.

Barrett finally evicted the tenant without prior notice, leaving her things on the street without alerting her. Many of them were stolen by the time she could get home and collect them.

The city issued noncompliance paperwork and dubbed the building unlicensed property, making Barrett unable to rent it again.