Can students in a dorm who had belongings damaged by rodent’s feces sue the college?
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Can students in a dorm who had belongings damaged by rodent’s feces sue the college?
In the dorm there are mouse feces everywhere around the room, on clothes and furniture (bed, shelves, dresser, etc.) My roommate and I have asked the maintenance to deal with this mouse problem millions of times. They only came in once to put in traps (that don’t work) and we believe they called a profession who came in and put in traps (that took down some of ours). None of traps works so we constantly complained and put in work orders in order for them to solve the problem. Now, it has gotten to the point where the mouse has soiled our belongings and we want repayment and a new room.
Asked on December 11, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Maryland
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Good question. If you are having problems with rodent infestation in your dorm room and school maintenance has been advised of the problem with no solution and your personal belongings have been damaged through no fault of your own, you can bring an action against your school for the damage, most likely in small claims court.
To assist your situation in getting the problem resolved, I would contact the local health department for an inspection of your dorms. If the school is cited for rodent infestation, there is a much better chance of getting the situation rectified sooner rather than later.
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