In Their Own Words: Success Stories

Julie T.

Julie's health was suffering for years because of water intrusion and mold in her rented apartment and a landlord who refused to make needed repairs. When she finally made the connection between her illnesses and her home environment, she immediately moved out and retained Eric to seek compensation for her losses..

 

“I lived in a damp, moldy flat for five years, and tried to get the landlord to fix the leak in the living room to no avail. Even after the ceiling cracked and began caving in, and an inspector confirmed it contained toxic black mold, he wouldn’t agree to repair it properly. After weeks of research and interviews with housing agencies and attorneys, I was at the end of my rope when someone referred me to Eric Lifschitz, who agreed to take my case. I so appreciated his professionalism, expertise and calm demeanor, and he earned my highest recommendation. During the five years living at my former apartment, I got debilitating skin rashes and a variety of respiratory ailments that forced me to quit my job. I didn’t realize until I moved that it was related to the mold. Now my health has improved tremendously and I’m working full-time again. I can’t thank Eric enough for the positive impact he made on my family and my life. He does great work that truly makes a difference."

"Thank you Eric!” ~


Karen K.

Karen found Eric in 2004 after an exhaustive search for legal representation:

"Wow! What can I say, Eric Lifschitz was God-sent!

"I was renting a home that was contaminated with black mold. The insurance company removed us from our home with nothing but the clothes on our backs. I spent many months looking for an attorney, countless meetings only to be told that they did not know how to address the mold issue, the long term effects, the toxins, the testing process. They could not argue something they did not understand. A family friend gave me an article- it had Eric's picture. My first thought was he looked too young, but I read the article anyway. Not only was he an attorney, but he had a degree in Chemistry. Unheard of! I hired Eric, we won our case, and the rest is history."

"Thank you Eric, for everything! My family is happy, healthy, and satisfied."

"Love, the Keys Family."

 

Brenda H.

Brenda was forced out of her East Bay home of nearly two decades after her landlord ignored a long-standing plumbing leak from an upstairs unit that caused toxic mold flourish throughout her home. After “camping out” for nearly six months in another unit with none of her belongings, she gave up hope her landlord would ever complete repairs to her home and relocated to a new neighborhood. Through litigation, our office obtained an excellent settlement, compensating Brenda for her mold-related personal injuries and property loss due to her landlord's negligence.

"Eric, I couldn't have made it through without you. This was very stressful for me, and you took the pressure off. I can't thank you enough. Also, I would definitely recommend you to potential clients in the future. God bless and take care."

 

Scott Y. and Jose D.

Jose resided in his large Mission District apartment for over a decade, during which time he started a family, marrying and having two children. Scott became a roommate and part of his extended family for nearly five years. The new owners that bought Jose's building targeted his rent controlled unit as a potential source of increased rental revenue and began a campaign of harassment to remove their tenants, changing locks without providing keys , removing bathroom and bedroom doors, and routinely verbally abusing them. Eventually, Jose and Scott abandoned their home to be free of their landlord's harassment. After vigorous litigation, our clients obtained a highly favorable settlement so they could afford to remain in the city and recover for their losses.

"Mr. Lifschitz did exactly what he said he would do- in the amount of time he said it would take. The Diaz family and myself are nothing short of thrilled with the outcome. Finally, we have justice. Thank you very much, Mr. Lifschitz."

 

 

Susan M.

Susan's life was suddenly changed when she was struck by an SUV while crossing the street on her way to work. Surgery was required to place pins in her knees and a slow recovery ensued. Fortunately, she was not forced to endure a lengthy lawsuit as Mr. Lifschitz was able to negotiate the policy limit from the driver's insurer without the need to file a lawsuit. Here are some of Susan's words:

"I decided to go with Eric because I liked his personality and he seemed very willing to work with me ... any question I had he was able to answer, or find the answer for me."

"Eric really took care of me. He's very nice. I am very grateful to Eric for everything he did ... If I have another problem I'll use Eric again."

 

Bruce & Chris G .

Bruce and Chris are brothers who had lived together for over twenty years in San Francisco. When their landlord became ill, his son took charge of the building and summarily evicted the brothers, in violation of the San Francisco Rent Ordinance. Although they were unable to regain possession of their former home, the case settled with significant monetary compensation.

"[Eric] was a very good lawyer ... he kept up with us during the whole stretch of the case."

"He just took very good care of me and my brother and we really appreciate him for that. Everything just worked out for the best for us!"

 

Francisco S.

Francisco was unlawfully evicted from his home of nearly thirty years. His home was purchased by a new owner who spent over three years harassing him to give up his home in order to rent out for more money. A settlement was reached before trial. Here are some of his words:

"I went to other lawyers and they were not interested in my case. The owner was very difficult to work with; Eric did a good job dealing with them."

"I just followed Eric's instructions... It was not a clean cut case and there was a potential for a trial by jury. He was very professional...He's a super-sharp, smart fellow."

"I was very comfortable dealing with him. He was very helpful... and I learned from him."

 

Susie M.

Susie's car was hit from behind while traveling to work on the highway just south of San Francisco. Her first good fortune came when a pedestrian car pushed her crushed car to the side of the road, out of harm's way. Her second came when she contacted Eric Lifschitz for help.

"Eric was truly empathetic when speaking with me shortly after I had gotten into a frightening car accident. He helped me put my thoughts and emotions in place in order to make the right decisions towards my health, over all well-being and piece of mind. Shortly after the accident, he guided me thoroughly and smoothly through the process of building a fair case, which resulted in a timely and balanced settlement.

"I can't thank Eric enough for supporting me through this unfortunate incident."

 

Lashanda S.

Lashandra exudes enthusiasm for her new home. She lived in severely substandard housing with her three children. Working pro bono, we helped Lashandra get her overdue rent waived, additional time to seek new housing, and a cash payment for her moving expenses. Here are her words:

“My landlord was trying to illegally evict me; saying I hadn't paid rent when I had proof I did. I was scared. Eric Lifschitz made me feel calm and he talked to me about every decision along the way.

“I couldn't imagine: one minute being evicted to the next minute being paid to move into a much nicer home for my kids. I most definitely recommend Eric.”

 

Kathy T.

When Kathy came to us, her home was infested with toxic mold. The mold was covering the walls throughout the apartment. Her son has asthma, a disease exasperated by elevated levels of household mold . We helped Kathy’s family move to a healthier home. About the experience, Kathy says:

"Mold was everywhere [in our home]. You could smell it all over my clothes and in my hair. We had to throw everything away.

“Eric took care of everything for us; he did more than he needed to do. Now we have a nice house—with no mold. I’m very lucky to have him as an attorney.”

Call our office at 415-553-6055 to learn more about our practice.