'We were being eaten alive:' Lawsuits allege 'dangerous' living conditions at Bush House long before condemnation
A week after moving into the Bush House Hotel, Keirstin Sibley and her roommates woke up covered in bug bites. The infestation was so bad, they had to sleep in long sleeves and gloves to protect themselves.
When they complained about the infestation and other alleged dangerous conditions in the building, the property manager told them their stay was not going to be extended.
The allegations are detailed in now-settled lawsuits filed in 2016 and 2017 by Sibley and her roommates over the living environment at the Quakertown boarding house condemned as uninhabitable for humans earlier this month.
Quakertown officials cited unsafe and unsanitary conditions as reasons it evacuated and sealed off the building on Nov. 10, displacing 64 low-income residents.
In addition to structural issues, officials said an unprecedented insect infestation had infiltrated the fire detection equipment and electrical outlets and conduits in the building. Bed bugs were also found in every room of the three-story building.
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Suit: 'We were being eaten alive'
Sibley and her roommates, Jeff Wheelin and Rick Aiello, lived in the West Broad Street building in the summer of 2015. After leaving, they sued owner Thomas Skiffington for negligence, claiming he refused to take substantive action to eliminate the insect problem, resulting in “serious and significant” injuries.
Separate lawsuits filed by Sibley and Aiello also allege injuries from falls they had related to conditions in the building.
According to the suit, Sibley immediately notified the property manager, Skiffington’s son Christian, about the bug problem and requested an exterminator. The request was rebuffed, the suit said.
“Plaintiffs were informed that they should just move out, to which they responded that they did not have the means to obtain alternative accommodations and they had already paid a security deposit and could only afford the rent at the Bush House Hotel,” according to the suit.
The lawsuit does not say how much the three paid for rent, although recent former residents reported paying between $135 and $250 a week in rent for rooms in the historic property that Skiffington has owned since 2004.
This news organization has been unsuccessful in attempts to reach either Skiffington or his attorney, Anthony DiUlio, since Nov. 10, despite multiple voice messages and emails seeking comment.
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The suit alleges that eventually, Skiffington’s son directed housekeepers to conduct extermination duties, though it says they were not trained or skilled in the use of chemicals.
The bug situation got “10 times” worse after they treated it, Sibley said in a phone interview Thursday. She and her roommates had to get their clothing chemically treated and she went to the hospital for her bug bites.
“We were being eaten alive,” she added. “It looked like I had burns up and down my arms.”
Sibley said she and her friends ended up at Bush House because they saw an ad in a newspaper for a furnished room, and the rent was affordable. They paid weekly by check, and never signed a lease.
“I thought it was a nice place the way they made it sound,” she said. “Then it was a total and complete nightmare.”
Mold infested the communal bathrooms on the second and third floors. Residents were responsible for trash removal. There was constant loud music, fire alarms and fighting. Everyone ignored the rules against smoking in the building, Sibley said.
The building constantly smelled of marijuana mixed with the musky smell of a damp basement, she said.
Several times, Sibley claims she warned the property manager the stairs to the basement laundry room needed to be repaired.
“He ignored it,” she said.
One day she was taking a laundry bag filled with clothes downstairs to do a load of wash and it snagged on a broken step. Sibley freed the bag, but her pants snagged on an open piece of metal railing, knocking her off balance.
She fell down a flight of stairs and suffered multiple injuries to her back, shoulder and legs requiring medical treatment, according to a lawsuit.
In a separate suit, Aiello claimed he suffered a concussion, herniated disc and other injuries after he slipped in a communal shower in the building. He claimed the shower had no handrails or floor mats.
They put up with the conditions for a few months until they found a new place to live. They settled their lawsuits with Skiffington for $12,500, Sibley said.
Quakertown requires registration, inspection of rental units
Quakertown landlords are required to register units annually with its code enforcement department, which issues them a permit, and are required to notify the borough when there is a change in occupancy.
The code enforcement officer is authorized to inspect residential units at least once every three years, “in order to safeguard the health and safety of the occupants, determine and enforce compliance with codes, laws and regulations," according to borough code.
The landlord and tenants of the unit receive a copy of the report, which outlines a 13-point “minimal safety checklist” and any deficiencies or violations observed. The report also outlines corrective actions or repairs required. Follow-up inspections are supposed to take place.
Among the checklist items are functioning sinks and toilets, functioning smoke detectors, no unfilled openings in the electric circuit breaker box, and no visible openings which allow weather to enter the interior.
This news organization has multiple Right to Know requests pending with Quakertown seeking inspection reports and other records related to the Bush House Hotel and other Skiffington-owned properties.
Borough officials said they most recently inspected Bush House last month. Borough officials have not said how frequently the property was inspected. Manager Scott McElree has not responded to this news organization’s questions about the property, calling it an “active investigation.”
In October 2019, roughly 15 months after a fatal two-alarm fire extensively damaged the building, zoning officer Doug Wilhelm conducted an inspection that yielded an eight-page violation notice, which this news organization obtained a copy of.
Among the deficiencies cited in 2019 that required “immediate correction” were issues involving mold, pest infestation, fire code, and electrical issues.
Other violations cited in the report included:
Loose and leaking toilets, stained and sagging ceiling tiles in first and second floor rooms.
Poorly maintained cooking and "fuel-burning" appliances.
Roof flashing falling apart and peeling up allowing water to enter the rear of the building.
Accumulated trash inside and outside the building.
Poorly maintained exterior surfaces including doors and window frames.
In 2019, Wilhelm did not condemn any part of the building, though tenants in at least four rooms had to be relocated until violations were addressed.
Wilhelm told this news organization at the time that the final report would have a list of what needed to be addressed in what he called “phase one” repairs in the 20 rental rooms where deficiencies were found.
The renovations would be followed by a second round of repairs to address issues leftover from the 2018 fire. Wilhelm described those improvements as tied to an “insurance issue,” and requiring architectural planning and more intensive efforts. He did not elaborate on what the insurance issue involved.
At the time, Skiffington was given 30 to 45 days to fix the problems and the property would be subject to "random spot inspections" for compliance, according to the violation notice.
A full inspection was supposed to take place 30 days after the violation notice was issued to check the status of repairs and compliance. Failure to comply within the time limits could result in a $300 a day fine, plus court costs and attorney fees, according to the notice.
It is unknown if additional inspections were done or the outcomes.
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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Lawsuits allege 'dangerous' living conditions at Quakertown's Bush House
