Ten military families have filed a lawsuit against Corvias Property Management, alleging that they failed to protect them against toxic mold at the Fort Meade army base.
The lawsuit claims that the management company “subjected these service members to appalling housing conditions and cavalier treatment” when the families requested for them to fix the issues.
“Requests for maintenance have been ignored. Repair efforts, when made, have been substandard and slipshod attempts at cosmetic fixes that have not resolved the problems. All the while, Defendants have collected the full amount of the service members’ housing allowances, preventing them from moving off-base.”
The suit additionally argues that Corvias Property Management “have exposed our service members and their families to rampant mold infestation, resulting in serious health issues and damage.”
Corvias Property Management was hit with 14 charges that include fraud and gross negligence.
Air Force Master Sergeant Alexander Nunez, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said that he, his wife and two young children all suffered multiple respiratory and other ailments from the mold infestation.
The lawsuit says that the family was forced to evacuate their home after “excessive moisture, mold, and standing sewage water,” and “repeated reports to Corvias”
Another family, the Bowers, said that they lived in their home for almost a year with their infant son before they were forced to relocate to temporary housing “due to health and safety concerns arising from toxic mold contamination” and because “water from the taps in their townhouse had a grayish brown hue to it.”
Navy Petty Officer Second Class Kylie Bowers and her husband returned to the house a month later because they were promised the issue was fixed. However, they said the townhouse was in even worse condition that before.
They said that their townhouse was, “Cluttered with remnants of cleaning products and plastic tarp with various cords and paper products littered all over the floor.”
Navy Hospital Corpsman Third Class Derek Buitrago, another plaintiff, had to get a second job and sell blood in order to pay for maintenance costs to deal with the mold.
The lawsuit seeks damages to cover “expenses related to economic harm, medical expenses, and mental anguish,” of the families, in addition to requiring Corvias Property Management to pay to independently certify thats its homes are livable.