How Uninhabitable Conditions Create Emotional Distress

Putting a price on emotional distress is one of the most complex parts of a tenant-rights attorney’s work. In California, tenants can recover damages for the mental and emotional impact of uninhabitable or unsafe living conditions — but how do you measure that kind of suffering? Most cases settle long before a jury can decide, but every so often, a case comes along that tests the limits of what “emotional distress” can mean. This is the story of one such case — strange, unsettling, and unforgettable.