"Out, damned spot! Out, I say."

Defendant-landlord knew of the brown spot and the wetness on the apartment wall, and of a small leak in the steam pipe behind the wall, but that did not constitute notice of the toxic mold which allegedly caused plaintiff's injuries, or so said the First Department, in Litwack v. Plaza Realty, which was decided on May 3, 2007. Plaintiff had offered expert witness testimony that, by negligently removing the sheetrock to repair the pipe, defendant had created the condition by causing a dangerous growth of mold. The court rejected this testimony as conclusory, however, since the witness did not testify as to how the sheetrock should have been removed.