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Mills v. State Sales6/10/2003
The plaintiff, Geraldine Mills, M.D. (plaintiff), appeals pro se from a summary judgment entered in favor of defendant, Robert F. Weisberg (Weisberg). She also appeals from a judgment as a matter of law entered in favor of State Sales, Incorporated (State Sales), Beaulieu of America, Incorporated (Beaulieu), and Gloria Nahabedian (Nahabedian) (collectively referred to as defendants).
This case came before the Supreme Court for oral argument on April 9, 2003, pursuant to an order directing the parties to appear and show cause why the issues raised in this appeal should not summarily be decided. After hearing the arguments of counsel and examining the memoranda filed by the parties, we are of the opinion that cause has not been shown and proceed to decide the appeal at this time. For the reasons set forth herein, we affirm the judgments of the Superior Court.
I. Facts and Travel
The plaintiff is a pediatrician who maintained her practice in an office that she rented from Nahabedian. In March 1996, a leak from an upstairs office damaged the carpeting in plaintiff's office. On July 16, Nahabedian replaced the carpet with one that was manufactured by Beaulieu and sold and installed by State Sales.
The plaintiff alleged that the replacement carpet emitted toxic fumes that caused her and her patients to become ill. She described her symptoms as dizziness, scratchy throat, vertigo, headache, and pressure in her ears. The plaintiff contacted defendants to inform them of the alleged problems with the carpet, but she says that they failed to correct the situation. As a result of the alleged noxious fumes and odors emanating from the carpet, plaintiff says she was forced to vacate the office on August 9, 1996. In vacating the office, plaintiff removed all her belongings, including her furniture and her patients' medical files. In a separate case, plaintiff filed suit against Nahabedian for constructive eviction.
The plaintiff contacted the Department of Health (department) to express her concerns about the fumes emitted from the carpet. On August 14, 1996, the department sent Weisberg, an employee of Environmental Monitoring and Training, Incorporated, to plaintiff's vacant office. Weisberg conducted air quality testing and removed a section of the carpet for further testing. Weisberg's tests failed to reveal the presence of any toxic substances or fumes.
The plaintiff says that on June 3, 1998, she learned that belongings she removed from her office may have been contaminated by the fumes allegedly emitted from the carpet. In July 1999, plaintiff filed the instant action against Weisberg and defendants, contending that the carpet was defective and/or chemicals were negligently applied to the carpet, thereby causing her personal injuries. Additionally, plaintiff argued that Weisberg's negligent testing of the office and the carpet led to her prolonged exposure to the alleged toxins. Specifically, she argued that if Weisberg had detected the toxins, she could have minimized her injuries by discarding the medical files she removed from the office, which she says absorbed the toxic fumes while they were in the office. On February 16, 2000, plaintiff's case against Nahabedian for constructive eviction was consolidated with her case against Weisberg and defendants.
In October 2000, Weisberg moved for summary judgment, pointing to an absence of any evidence that his alleged negligence proximately caused plaintiff's injuries. He further asserted that plaintiff presented no evidence of the nature of the toxic substance that allegedly harmed her and that he never was asked to test any of the materials that were taken from the office tha
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