$430,000.00 And Counting

You would think that a property management company would know better. Apparently USA Properties Fund, Inc., and USA Multifamily Management, Inc. operate a residential building in Concord. Someone there thought that it was a good idea to remove the old asbestos ceilings from the units.

Not a problem, until you discover that the property managment companies decided to use uncertified laborers to do the job. The Bay Area Air Quality Managment District discovered this and fined the companies involved to the tune of $430,000.00, setting a new crecord.

Start the clock. In 15 years, everyone who worked on that job will file a claim for some sort of asbestos exposure related illness (from pleural plaques to mesothelioma). For which it is unlikely the property management companies will have insurance to cover, since most insurance carriers stopped providing coverage for asbestos injuries.

And, as the cherry on the top for the asbestos mills (both plaintiff and defense), the company that did the job, Synergy Environmental (aka Synergy Enterprises, Inc.), performed some 200 or more of these jobs.

Asbestos, the gift that keeps on giving.