David Defelice, Individually and on Behalf of His Minor Son, Pascal Hondroulis, and Katie Hondroulis Versus Federated National Insurance Company, Enviro-Clean Services, Inc., and Knight Building Inspection Services, L.L.C.

CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 9, 2019
Docket18-CA-374
StatusUnknown

This text of David Defelice, Individually and on Behalf of His Minor Son, Pascal Hondroulis, and Katie Hondroulis Versus Federated National Insurance Company, Enviro-Clean Services, Inc., and Knight Building Inspection Services, L.L.C. (David Defelice, Individually and on Behalf of His Minor Son, Pascal Hondroulis, and Katie Hondroulis Versus Federated National Insurance Company, Enviro-Clean Services, Inc., and Knight Building Inspection Services, L.L.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
David Defelice, Individually and on Behalf of His Minor Son, Pascal Hondroulis, and Katie Hondroulis Versus Federated National Insurance Company, Enviro-Clean Services, Inc., and Knight Building Inspection Services, L.L.C., (La. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

DAVID DEFELICE, INDIVIDUALLY NO. 18-CA-374 AND ON BEHALF OF HIS MINOR SON, PASCAL HONDROULIS, AND FIFTH CIRCUIT KATIE HONDROULIS COURT OF APPEAL VERSUS STATE OF LOUISIANA FEDERATED NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY, ENVIRO-CLEAN SERVICES, INC., AND KNIGHT BUILDING INSPECTION SERVICES, L.L.C.

ON APPEAL FROM THE TWENTY-FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF LOUISIANA NO. 774-278, DIVISION "L" HONORABLE DONALD A. ROWAN, JR., JUDGE PRESIDING

July 09, 2019

HANS J. LILJEBERG JUDGE

Panel composed of Judges Stephen J. Windhorst, Hans J. Liljeberg, and John J. Molaison, Jr.

AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; REMANDED HJL JJM

WINDHORST, J., CONCURS IN PART AND DISSENTS IN PART WITH REASONS SJW COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT, DAVID DEFELICE, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF HIS MINOR SON, PASCAL HONDROULIS, AND KATIE HONDROULIS Galen M. Hair David P. Vicknair Sarah M. Kalis Kassie Lee Richbourg

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLEE, ENVIRO-CLEAN SERVICES, INC. Elton F. Duncan, III Kelley A. Sevin LILJEBERG, J.

Plaintiffs, David DeFelice, individually and on behalf of his minor son,

Pascal Hondroulis, and Katie Hondroulis, appeal the trial court’s judgment,

granting an exception of prescription filed by defendant, Enviro-Clean Services,

Inc. (“ECS”), and dismissing plaintiffs’ claims against it. For the following

reasons, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand this case to the trial court for

further proceedings.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Mr. DeFelice is the owner of the property located at 3709 Green Acres Road

in Metairie, Louisiana. He and Ms. Hondroulis were residing in the home when,

on June 10, 2016, the house sustained water damage due to an overflowing drain

caused by clogged plumbing. According to Mr. DeFelice, he contacted a plumber,

who came to the property and discovered mold while working in the house. Mr.

DeFelice contacted his homeowner’s insurer, Federated National Insurance

Company (“Federated”), and notified them of the water damage and the plumber’s

discovery of mold in the house.

At the request of Federated, ECS, a mold remediation and mitigation

company, evaluated the damage to Mr. DeFelice’s house on June 22, 2016. Mr.

DeFelice asserts that a representative of ECS, Charlie Barbo, verbally assured him

that the house was “safe” to occupy. On that same day, a mold inspector from

Knight Building Services, L.L.C. (“Knight”) came to the property and collected

various samples to test for mold. Knight issued a report of its findings on the

following day, June 23, 2016.

In its June 23, 2016 report, Knight indicated that it completed a visual,

physical, and indoor environmental quality evaluation of the property and that

“[t]he results of this investigation indicate that professional remediation may be

necessary at this time.” The report indicated that there was mold contamination

18-CA-374 1 from failed plumbing at the location of a bathroom toilet and confirmed microbial

growth at a kitchen cabinet. More specifically, the report indicated that concern

should arise at “MODERATE” levels; that “LOW” levels of

aspergillus/penicillium and total fungi were found; and that surface swabs

collected at visible microbial growth showed a “HIGH” level of

aspergillus/penicillium mold spores “growing opportunistically” in a water-

damaged base cabinet in the kitchen. It noted that while airborne levels of

aspergillus/penicillium were not present at levels of concern, “the current site

conditions present may indicate a larger hidden mold reservoir concluding possible

unobserved suspect amplification or air-borne indoor air quality issues are

present.”

The Knight report also recommended that the issues in the report be

addressed to minimize future problems and that “personnel trained in the handling

of hazardous materials or a Licensed Mold Remediation Contractor be contacted to

discuss the proper protocol for removing and treating affected materials and

evaluating any further damage.” In a section of the report entitled, “Building &

Health,” Knight indicated that “[t]he presence of certain mold and mold spores in

buildings and housing can result in mild to severe health effects in humans and can

deteriorate the structure of the dwelling resulting in content or structural damage.”

After receiving the Knight report on June 23, 2016, Mr. DeFelice and Ms.

Hondroulis continued to live in the home. On August 16, 2016, Ms. Hondroulis

gave birth to a son, Pascal. Shortly after he began residing the home, Pascal

developed breathing issues, which his doctors were initially unable to diagnose.

On December 23, 2016, Pascal’s pediatrician diagnosed him with bronchiolitis.

Plaintiffs contend that it was not until Pascal’s diagnosis that they first began to

suspect that the mold in the house was not “safe” and may have caused his health

issues. They vacated the premises on January 1, 2017.

18-CA-374 2 On July 24, 2017, Mr. DeFelice and Ms. Hondroulis filed this lawsuit

against Federated, ECS, and Knight, and they filed a First Amended Petition on

August 10, 2017, setting forth several claims. Their claims against ECS include

claims based on negligence, intentional or negligent misrepresentation, detrimental

reliance, and unfair trade practices. In their petitions, plaintiffs allege that when

ECS visited and evaluated the property, a representative of ECS verbally assured

Mr. DeFelice that the house was “safe” to occupy. They claim that they suffered

“damage to person and property” due to their reliance on ECS’s misrepresentation.

They also assert that ECS is liable for damages due to unfair trade practices and for

“mental anguish as a result of the property damage.” Plaintiffs seek to recover for

property damage, loss of property value, loss of use of property, mental anguish,

emotional distress, and “other damages which will be shown at trial.”

On November 9, 2017, ECS filed a Peremptory Exception of Prescription.

After a hearing on March 5, 2018, the trial court granted the exception and

dismissed plaintiffs’ claims against ECS. The trial court found that plaintiffs’

claims against ECS were prescribed because prescription began to run on June 23,

2016, when plaintiffs received the Knight report, and they did not file suit until

more than one year later on July 24, 2017. In its reasons for judgment, the trial

court noted that the Knight report warned of the health ramifications of remaining

in a house with mold and recommended that Mr. DeFelice retain a professional

licensed contractor to perform mold remediation. The trial court also noted that in

his testimony at the hearing on the exception of prescription, Mr. DeFelice

acknowledged that the Knight report alerted him to the presence of mold in the

18-CA-374 3 house and that some damage in the house was “too severe to salvage.” Plaintiffs

appeal.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

On appeal, plaintiffs contend that the trial court manifestly erred by granting

ECS’s exception of prescription. They argue that the trial court incorrectly found

that the prescriptive period began to run when plaintiffs received the Knight report

on June 23, 2016. They assert that prescription should have begun to accrue when

Pascal was diagnosed with bronchiolitis in December 2016, or at the earliest, when

Pascal began exhibiting symptoms of mold exposure after he was born in August

of 2016.

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