Pompano woman wins $5.5 million in lawsuit over mold in her co-op apartment

POMPANO BEACH — A Pompano Beach woman won a $5.5 million judgment against her co-op association this week after proving in court that she suffered irreparable harm from mold in her unit.

Cheryl Jakab, 60, sued the Ever April Apartments in Pompano Beach last year, complaining that mold had been accumulating in her unit for years and the association did nothing to address problems even as they became more and more apparent.

Jakab held the association liable for the death of her domestic partner, Joao Rodrigues, 70, in 2021.

“Water had been leaking from the outside through the unmaintained exterior walls into the plaintiffs walls,” her attorney, Robert McKee, wrote in his initial civil complaint. Jakab repeatedly complained about the contamination even before her partner’s death, but she complained that nothing was done to fix the damage, according to her lawsuit.

Inspections found mold contamination in 2020 at either “elevated” or “unusual” levels.

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The Ever April co-op building in Pompano Beach. (Carline Jean / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The attorneys representing Ever April Aparments did not return calls requesting comment.

The jury returned its verdict Monday, finding in favor of Jakab and awarding her $5,523,467 in compensatory and punitive damages.

Jakab declined an interview request.

McKee, her lawyer, said he did not really know why none of the other residents of the condominium complex came forward with lawsuits of their own, but the evidence of damage to Jakab’s unit was overwhelming. “They punched a hole in her wall and water came pouring out of it,” he said.

Jakab still lives in the complex, in another unit owned by a family member, McKee said.

“It was the duty of the defendant... to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe manner so as to prevent property of owners of the individual units from being damaged and/or destroyed by water and mold,” McKee wrote in the initial complaint.

Co-ops are similar to condos, with differences in the ownership structure (condo owners own their units, while co-op owners own a share of the property).

Jakab lived in the property with her partner since 1996, according to public records.

“Our trust is that a verdict like this will alert homeowner associations that they are obligated to maintain their buildings and protect their residents,” McKee said.

“We learned harshly in the collapse of the Surfside condominium that management failures can cause buildings to fall … but the less-reported and equally important lesson is that the conditions that cause buildings to erode and fall are the very conditions that cause mold to grow and to erode the fabric of the lives of the occupants of such buildings. Water intrusion is the cause. Microbe infestation follows…and health is destroyed.”

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Twitter @rolmeda.