Washington court upholds $75,000 for tenant exposed to paint fumes, reverses treble damages

Representative Image (AI-generated) Paint fumes drifting into a rented home can turn an ordinary tenancy into a question of health, safety and legal responsibility. In Redmond, Washington, tenant Eric Christiansen said fumes from an adjoining automobile-painting workshop made him ill and left his apartment uninhabitable. A trial court awarded him nearly $95,904 in damages after finding his landlords negligent and in violation of state landlord-tenant law. However, the Washington Court of Appeals, Division One, partly revised that outcome in an unpublished opinion issued on October 26, 2026, which does not constitute binding precedent. According to the ruling available on Justia, the court upheld $75,000 for physical pain and suffering and emotional distress but reversed the additional treble damages and ordered further proceedings on attorney fees.Paint fumes affected the rented apartmentThe dispute arose at a garage property owned by Larry Searles and associated with 938 164th Avenue, LLC. The facility in Redmond contained two apartments and an automobile workshop where Searles repaired and painted classic cars. Christiansen signed a two-year lease for one of the apartments on Jun...