Islander Club lawsuit scheduled for December trial

A three-year-old dispute between Islander Club of Longboat Key resident Valerie Zamberletti and the condominium’s association is scheduled to go to trial Dec. 3.

At the center of the case is Zamberletti’s 11th-floor unit in the condominium’s south tower, which she alleges developed mold and water damage as the result of the association’s negligence. The association, however, says in court documents that Zamberletti failed to follow condominium procedures and that its actions aren’t the source of the unit’s damage.

In a January 2010 complaint, Zamberletti alleged that she left her unit Aug. 3, 2009, with the thermostat set at 75 degrees and the humidistat at 60% relative humidity and that she notified the condo’s manager, Robert Mastrippolito, that she would be gone until Aug. 19.

The complaint states that the Islander Club had a policy of inspecting vacant units once a week.

Zamberletti alleges that her unit, along with others in the south tower, lost power Aug. 12 and needed to be manually reset.

The complaint states that Zamberletti “returned Aug. 19 to find mold and water damage to the carpet, rugs, walls, vents, kitchen cabinets and other areas” in the unit and on her personal property, as well as visible moisture on the surface of most of her belongings.

“The Association’s negligent errors and omissions created conditions favorable for mold growth and water damage in Zamberletti’s unit,” the suit states.

But the Association’s version of events differs, according to court filings.

In an affadavit, Mastrippolito alleged that Zamberletti didn’t follow the established policy of the Islander Club that requires residents to notify the office in person or by phone before vacating their units for an extended period.

Mastrippolito’s affidavit states that Zamberletti’s unit wasn’t inspected Aug. 5, because she hadn’t notified the office that she wouldn’t be occupying her unit. The affadavit states that it was determined that Zamberletti would be gone sometime after Aug. 9 and before Aug. 12 “in passing conversation ... that was not in compliance with the Islander Club of Longboat Key policy of notice.”

According to Mastrippolito’s statement, former maintenance worker Ted Fralick completed an inspection of the unit Aug. 12 and noted that the temperature was 78 degrees and the humidity control was at 43. No moisture or mold was noted.

Zamberletti told the Longboat Observer that the smell of mold hit her when she walked off the elevator toward her unit Aug. 19, 2009, when she returned.

According to the Islander Club, on that date, Zamberletti called the office to have her unit’s water turned back on, however, her neighbor had already turned her water back on, which Zamberletti denies.

Less than two weeks later, Zamberletti hired K9 Mold Pro to inspect her property.

In its defense, the Islander Club cites the report’s finding that suggests that a pre-existing leak in a dishwasher that was subsequently removed was responsible for damages.

“If not for the hidden leak from behind the dishwasher trapping water behind the cabinets and a pre-existing leak behind Ms. Zamberletti’s wall in the kitchen, both of which were not visible from the kitchen, the mold would not have formed,” the Islander’s Club’s answer to Zamberletti’s complaint states.

A subsequent report in July 2010 by Breathe Easy determined that damage to Zamberletti’s unit had three causes: an active leak at the lower right corner of the master bedroom window; a water event from the floor above; and a minor dishwasher leak. That report, however, found that damages caused by the dishwasher were likely isolated to the kitchen area.

The Islander Club has introduced the firm R.L. James, which installed the master bedroom window in Zamberletti’s unit, alleging that damages “would be a direct and proximate result of the negligent window installation of the window completed by R.L. James ... ”

Zamberletti alleges that ongoing mold issues have caused her to develop pneumonitis.

Association President Maggie Brenner declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

It’s not the first time Zamberletti and the Association have been at odds.

In 2011, she and the Association reached a settlement in mediation after Zamberletti filed a suit saying she was injured in May 2010, while disposing of a neighbor’s trash after the trash chute opened, fell from its hinges and came down on her right arm. The association, however, alleged that Zamberletti was negligent and failed to mitigate damages by seeking timely and appropriate medical care.