Another Furstenau suit - and this time, he wins
For the second time within a week, Councilman Richard Furstenau was involved in a judge's ruling. This time, it was in his favor.
In a case of landlord vs. tenant, DuPage County Judge William I. Ferguson ruled in favor of D'oro Suite, a Naperville extended stay apartment complex owned by Furstenau and his brother. D'oro filed suit against former tenants Marius and Marsha Vertan for failure to pay rent after signing a one-month lease for August 2008. The Vertans filed a counter claim, alleging unsafe conditions that prompted their family to move out after two days.
(Danielle Gardner/Staff Photographer)
During the nearly 2 1/2 trial Wednesday afternoon, three witnesses were questioned: the Vertans and Connie Furstenau, wife of the councilman and office manager of the apartment complex. Councilman Furstenau was not present at the trial.
According to court testimony, the Vertans relocated to Naperville from Austin, Texas, for Marius Vertan's job. With their lease in Austin expiring at the end of July 2008, they had about two weeks to find a residence in Naperville. Marsha Vertan said she searched online for executive furnished apartments in Naperville and found D'oro Suite. The couple planned to stay in such a unit while searching for a permanent home. After speaking with Connie Furstenau on the phone, the couple signed the one month lease in Austin and sent a $450 security deposit.
When the couple and their two children arrived Aug. 3, Connie Furstenau was out of town and another D'oro Suite employee checked the family into their unit and completed a short walk-through. The couple paid the $1,395 rent and $20 wireless Internet access fee with a check.
The first night in the apartment, the couple said they discovered unsanitary conditions when they went to bathe their sons.
"I was going to run a bath for them and I realized the track of the doors was full of rust," Marsha Vertan said, adding there appeared to be mold in the tub.
The next morning, no one answered when she knocked on the door of the manager's office and phoned, Marsha Vertan said. At that time she dropped off paperwork including a condition report the couple had signed. The report was pre-filled with the condition of each room listed as "good." They did not write on the form any concerns about any of the rooms, both sides testified.
Other concerns that came later during the stay included a hole in the couch which their 1 1/2-year-old son began picking the stuffing from and putting in his mouth, an unsteady kitchen chair and an entertainment center that was not secured to the wall. The Vertans said when their 3 1/2-year-old son touched the unit it would move.
"I was afraid it would topple on him if he kept touching it," Marsha said.
After turning on the air conditioning unit on their second night in the apartment, the couple said they noticed an odor coming from the vents.
"I didn't know what was coming into the units," Marsha Vertan said. "I was afraid."
Marius Vertan said it was "an irritating smell. Like one that would make you choke if you keep inhaling it."
They turned off the air conditioning and opened the windows. Marius Vertan said he was too afraid to fall asleep.
The next morning, Aug. 5, they knocked on the door of the manager's office and tried calling, but both were unanswered, Marsha Vertan said. She wrote a note to the manager and left it with the keys in the drop box, and the family went to find a hotel.
"From the mold to the chair to the stuff my (son) was pulling from the couch to the air conditioning, it was too much to deal with," Marius Vertan said.
That evening, they stopped payment on the check.
Connie Furstenau testified the employee left in charge never got a message about the Vertans' concerns. She said she was not aware of a hole in the couch, and that the entertainment center is a free-standing unit that sits on the carpeting. She also indicated the air conditioning units are inspected on a regular basis every summer.
"They were fearful it was carbon monoxide poisoning," Connie Furstenau said. "I know our building is completely electric, so there is no possibility of carbon monoxide."
According to the terms of the lease, tenants agree to a 30-day minimum lease, and have to provide a two-week notice to either extend their stay or vacate the unit.
"This is a very simple case," said Mike Huseman, attorney for D'oro Suite. "The defendant signed the lease. They walked out."
The apartment was re-rented Aug. 18, leaving D'oro Suite without rent for the unit for 17 days. D'oro asked for the Vertans to pay the full month's rent for which they signed the lease.
Ferguson ordered the Vertans to pay $2,281.50 to D'oro Suite, which includes rent for the first 17 days of August, court costs and attorney fees. He said the lease is "an enforceable contract."
The problem with the couch, Ferguson said, seemed to be corrected by putting a blanket over the hole. The issues in the bathroom "could have been addressed by the tenant" by cleaning them. He also said if the air conditioning was truly a matter of safety concern, the Vertans should have left that night.
"The court believes it would have been prudent to leave that night, and not remain in the building," Ferguson said.
Connie Furstenau and Huseman declined comment after the ruling. The Vertans said they were "very disappointed."
"We thought we had a good case," Marsha Vertan said afterwards. "But I'm glad we had a chance to be heard."
"This should be a warning to everybody in the Naperville area that if they're going to be looking for D'oro Suite or any other apartment that they should spend the time looking closely at all of the facets inside the apartment and don't let the landlord or manager rush you through the check-in process and the inspection," said Anthony Abear, attorney for the Vertans.
