Lindkvist v. Travelers Ins.

• Citation: 2013 N.Y. Slip Op. 07426,974 N.Y.S.2d 421,111 A.D.3d 452
• Parties: Mark LINDKVIST, Plaintiff–Respondent, v. TRAVELERS INSURANCE, Defendant, Maxons Restorations, Inc., et al., Defendants–Appellants. Maxons Restorations, Inc., Third–Party Plaintiff–Appellant, v. JLC Environmental Consultants, Inc., Third–Party Defendant–Appellant. New Concept Environmental Cleaning Corp., Second Third–Party Plaintiff–Appellant, v. JLC Environmental Consultants Inc., Second Third–Party Defendant–Appellant.
• Decision Date: 12 November 2013
• Court: New York Supreme Court Appellate Division

111 A.D.3d 452

974 N.Y.S.2d 421

2013 N.Y. Slip Op. 07426

Mark LINDKVIST, Plaintiff–Respondent,

v.TRAVELERS INSURANCE, Defendant,Maxons Restorations, Inc., et al., Defendants–Appellants.

Maxons Restorations, Inc., Third–Party Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.JLC Environmental Consultants, Inc., Third–Party Defendant–Appellant.

New Concept Environmental Cleaning Corp., Second Third–Party Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.JLC Environmental Consultants Inc., Second Third–Party Defendant–Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.

Nov. 12, 2013.

Babchik & Young, LLP, White Plains (Ephraim J. Fink of counsel), for Maxons Restorations, Inc., appellant.

Ahmuty, Demers & McManus, Albertson (Glenn A. Kaminska of counsel), for New Concept Environmental Cleaning Corp., appellant.

Goldberg Segalla LLP, Garden City (Brendan T. Fitzpatrick of counsel), for JLC Environmental Consultants, Inc., appellant.

Lewis & Fiore, New York (Charles G. Fiore of counsel), for respondent.

ANDRIAS, J.P., ACOSTA, SAXE, RENWICK, MANZANET–DANIELS, JJ.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Barbara Jaffe, J.), entered February 15, 2013, which denied JLC Environmental Consultants, Inc.'s motion and Maxons Restorations, Inc.'s and New Concept Environmental Cleaning Corp.'s cross motions in limine for the preclusion of plaintiff's experts' testimony, unanimously modified, on the law, to preclude plaintiff's experts from testifying as to a causal connection between plaintiff's alleged mold exposure and his injuries, and, upon such preclusion, plaintiff's personal injury claim dismissed, and otherwise affirmed, without costs.

In this action, plaintiff seeks, inter alia, recovery for personal injuries and property damage sustained as a result of mold remediation work performed by Maxons Restorations, Inc., New Concept Environmental Cleaning Corp. and JLC Environmental Consultants, Inc. to address a condition that existed in his apartment after it was flooded.

The proposed expert testimony purporting to establish that a mold condition existing in plaintiff's apartment caused his injuries is inadmissible as it fails to set forth “plaintiff's exposure to a toxin, that the toxin is capable of causing the particular illness (general causation) and that plaintiff was exposed to sufficient levels of the toxin to cause the illness (specific causation)” ( Parker v. Mobil Oil Corp., 7 N.Y.3d 434, 448, 824 N.Y.S.2d 584, 857 N.E.2d 1114 [2006] ). Plaintiff's experts do not identify the specific mold alleged to be the cause of plaintiff's injuries, set forth that the specific mold is capable of causing the claimed injuries, or quantify the level of exposure needed to cause the illness at issue, a...