NEWS 25 WEHT Evansville, Henderson, OwensboroState Files Lawsuit Against Evansville Landlords

State Files Lawsuit Against Evansville Landlords

story by Courtney Gousman

EVANSVILLE - A young Evansville child is the victim of lead poisoning and now, the state is getting involved. The Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against the landlords of the home where this child was exposed. 

NEWS 25 investigated to find out more about this case and the landlords behind the property.

This is the first time a lawsuit of this kind has been filed by the Indiana Attorney General. It alleges Mark and Tammy Bryan present a health hazard.

It's an immaculate home in the 2200 block of Mulberry, but state officials say the old home hides a secret. It's filled with lead.

“I loved that house. It's a lot of room for me and my family but again when the lead came back I couldn't stay there," says Lekecia Thomas.

Thomas once rented the property with her children.

Thomas tells me in January 2008 her then 3-year-old son tested positive for high lead levels, which can be harmful to a child's development.

Once the high lead levels came back for the child, Vanderburgh County’s Health Department got involved, taking samples of the homes paint, dust and soil. They all came back positive.

The Vanderburgh County Health Department tells NEWS 25 once officials got their results; they started reaching out to the property owners, Mark and Tammy Bryan.

The Bryans were told to clean up the property, since it violated law, but the health department's notices and citations went unanswered.

That's when the state got involved.

"The state of Indiana has been making a lot of emphasis on control of these homes and I think they've been trying to find some cases that they think are pretty gross and they can prosecute," says Dr. Ray Nicholson, Health Officer for Vanderburgh County’s Health Department.

NEWS 25 did some checking and found the Bryans own 37 properties in Vanderburgh County.

There are five code violations on the Mulberry home alone. The couple is involved in close to 70 court cases. We tried tracking down the Bryans, but the numbers we found were disconnected.

Health officials tell NEWS 25 they hope this lawsuit serves as a wake-up call for others.

"Probably get the other people to take it seriously when we ask that we have this house corrected," says Nicholson.

Thomas tells me her son did have high lead levels before moving into that home. The Mulberry home is now empty.