Updated — A legal aid attorney has asked a state judge to find the city in contempt for “knowingly and intentionally violating” the court’s order to protect two lead-poisoned Fair Haven children by overseeing the abatement of lead paint hazards at their homes.
An hour after the contempt filing, the city’s health department reached out to the affected tenant for the first time since the judge’s order to schedule a lead paint hazard inspection. On Friday, the judge denied the contempt motion and sustained the city’s objection.
New Haven Legal Assistance Association (NHLAA) Attorney Amy Marx filed that motion for contempt Thursday afternoon in the latest turn in legal aid’s suit against the city for illegally changing its lead paint enforcement policies last November.
The lawsuit charged the city with leaving lead-poisoned children who should be covered by city law in actuality unprotected by city health department enforcement.
On Monday, state Superior Court Judge John Cordani ruled in favor of legal aid and ordered the city to inspect and oversee the abatement of all lead paint hazards at the Fair Haven apartments of the lawsuits’ two primary plaintiffs: 4‑year-old Fair Haven resident Muhaweinmana Sara and 2‑year-old Fair Haven resident Nyriel Smith.
The judge did not rule Monday on whether or not to certify a class of hundreds of similarly lead-poisoned children as plaintiffs in the case. He did lay the groundwork for such a finding, however, by clearly identifying local law’s definition of “lead poisoning” as in line with legal’s aid’s understanding and not in line with the city’s.
Allan Appel photo
New Haven Legal Assistance Association attorneys Amy Marx and Shelley White.
In Thursday’s filing, Marx accused the city of ignoring the judge’s order and of refusing to respond to multiple scheduling requests.
“To date,” she wrote, “Defendants have not conducted nor scheduled a lead hazards inspection, nor even confirmed their intention to conduct an inspection.”
City spokesperson Laurence Grotheer told the Independent just before 6 p.m. that the health department has indeed scheduled a lead paint inspection with the affected tenant, contrary to Marx’s motion.
“Attorneys representing the City,” he wrote in an email statement, “both in its Office of Corporation Counsel and outside counsel – set aside Attorney Marx’ motion, explaining first that the City remains ‘well within’ its window to schedule inspections, and that offers to inspect the premises at 105 Lombard on June 21 or June 24 were unacceptable to the tenant.
“An inspection at 105 Lombard is now scheduled for June 26, in compliance with the Memorandum of Decision; an inspection at 187 Wolcott is deemed by New Haven Legal Assistance no longer necessary.”
After Grotheer issued that statement, Marx told the Independent that she checked in with the mother of one of the lead-poisoned plaintiffs, who lives on Lombard Street. Her client’s mother informed her that a city health department staffer did indeed call her directly to set up an inspection time for their apartment. But that call didn’t come until 4:25 p.m. this afternoon. Roughly an hour after Marx first filed the contempt motion.
Marx confirmed that the second chief plaintiff in the case moved with her family away from their Wolcott Street apartment this weekend with the help of Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services.
“This call was not only totally late,” Marx said, noting the three days of no contact since the judge’s Monday order. “But it makes no sense to contact the tenant directly and not the tenant’s attorney in such a legally sensitive matter.”
Furthermore, she said, the health department caller this afternoon gave her Lombard Street client three possible days for a city lead inspection: Friday, Monday, and Wednesday. Her client chose Wednesday as the most convenient for her, she said.
“The scheduling of inspections after the motion for contempt does not negate the contempt.”
Click here to read a copy of the contempt motion.
On Friday, Cordani denied Marx’s contempt motion and sustained the city’s objection to the motion, which argued that the city was well within the five-day timeline required by state statute to set up an inspection with the tenant.
In her motion, Marx wrote that she emailed Cohen and two other relevant city-contracted and staff attorneys on Wednesday morning, two days after the judge issued his order.
“Counsel for Defendants did not reply to the email,” she wrote.
Marx then sent a second email to the city’s attorneys on Thursday morning to ask about scheduling a lead paint hazard inspection.
“Counsel for Defendants did not reply to this second email,” she wrote.
“Counsel for Defendants is knowingly and intentionally violating the judicial order,” Marx concluded, “by not scheduling a lead hazards inspection in a reasonable time commensurate with the seriousness of the irreparable harm found buy the Court.”
Previous lead coverage:
• City Loses Again On Lead
• Briefs Debate “Lead Poisoning”
• New Haven: Another Flint?
• Harp Administration Admits Relaxing Lead Standard To Save $$
• Class-Action Suit Slams City On Lead
• City, Legal Aid Clash On Lead Paint
• Legal Aid To City: Get Moving On Lead Paint Law
• 100+ Tenants Caught In Lead Limbo
• 2 Agencies, 2 Tacks On Lead Paint
• Chapel Apartments Get 3rd Lead Order
• Lead Sends Family Packing
• Health Officials Grilled On Lead Plans
• Judge Threatens To Find City In Contempt
• Same Mandy House Cited Twice For Lead Paint
• Lead $ Search Advances
• 3 Landlords Hit With New Lead Orders
• Another Judge Rips City On Lead
• Judge To City: Get Moving On Lead
• Health Department Seeks Another $4.1M For Lead Abatement
• City-OK’d Lead Fixes Fail Independent Inspection
• Judge: City Dragged Feet On Lead
• 2nd Kid Poisoned After City Ordered Repairs
• Judge: City Must Pay
• City Sued Over Handling Of Lead Poisonings
• City’s Lead Inspection Goes On Trial
• Eviction Withdrawn On Technicality
• 2nd Child Poisoned; Where’s The City?
• Carpenter With Poisoned Kid Tries A Fix
• High Lead Levels Stall Eviction
• 460 Kids Poisoned By Lead In 2 Years
• Bid-Rigging Claimed In Lead Cleanup
• Judge Orders Total Lead Paint Clean-Up
• Legal Aid Takes City To Task On Lead