The lawsuit, filed in August 2018, alleges that landlord Kathleen M. Rodgers Petit allowed mould to render a rental in Orange County uninhabitable, causing health problems for the tenants.
The tenants first listed injuries from mould in a bill of particulars in May 2020, but they omitted any claim for damaged personal belongings. When Ljusic testified in April 2022 about discarded household items, the landlord demanded receipts or proof of purchase. Instead, the tenants submitted a one‑page summary in October 2022 for $70,500, and a second in June 2023 for $321,728.79, neither accompanied by supporting documents.
In October 2023, the tenants formally concluded discovery and sought to amend their complaint. The landlord moved to strike the late claim, and the Supreme Court of Orange County granted the motion in April 2024. The tenants filed a Section 3025(b) motion, which Justice David J. Squirrell approved on 25 September 2024, allowing the amendment.
The Second Department’s four‑judge panel—Valerie Brathwaite Nelson, Paul Wooten, Laurence L. Love and James P. McCormack—overturned the lower court’s decision. They ruled that the claim was barred by laches, noting the five‑year delay and the lack of evidence. The panel wrote that “the defendant demonstrated significant prejudice as the plaintiffs’ proposed amended complaint was a significant expansion of their claims, was sought after the parties had completed discovery, and was asserted without supporting documentation.”
Dostana Ljusic, one of the plaintiffs, said her antique silver tea set, purchased in 2014, was ruined by mould. She and her co‑plaintiffs now face the reality that their claim for these personal items will not be heard in the current litigation.
The case will proceed to trial without the added $321,728 claim, and the tenants must rely solely on the original allegations of mould‑related health damages. The court’s decision underscores the strict limits on late amendments in New York civil procedure.