BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — New York Attorney General Letitia James won Monday a $5.1 million lawsuit against a notorious Buffalo landlord.
The landlord, Angel Elliot Dalfin, faced criminal charges in 2021after he failed to notify his tenants of lead hazards on a number of his Erie County properties.
An initial lawsuit against Dalfin was filed by the attorney general in 2020, after the landlord consistently violated a number of laws, and failed to address the lead paint hazards in his rental properties.
Dalfin's failure to take action led to over two dozen reported cases of childhood lead poisoning.
Erie County Supreme Court Justice Catherine Nugent Panepinto ordered Dalfin to pay the $5.1 million in restitution and penalties which will go towards childhood lead poisoning prevention programs across the county.
"Angel Dalfin's disregard for the health and wellbeing of his tenants and their families is as shocking as it is depraved. As a result of his reckless negligence, more than two dozen children are suffering the effects of lead poisoning. While no amount of money can reverse the damage he's wrought, today's landmark decision will fund invaluable lead poisoning prevention and abatement efforts throughout Erie County. Let this be a warning to all other landlords who would try to shirk their responsibility: if you put children in harm's way, my office will hold you accountable."
Dalfin owned and managed over 150 family homes, most of which were located in predominantly low-income neighborhoods of color. Seven of these properties reported multiple cases of childhood lead poisoning.
The $5.1 million in penalties and restitution will include the following:
- $630,000 total penalties for violations of state law requiring landlords to provide full and accurate information to tenants about known risk of lead exposure to children and known instances of lead paint and lead paint hazards.
- $3,101,900 in restitution for ongoing violations of the Erie County Sanitary Code involving conditions conducive to lead poisoning, such as chipping, peeling, and deteriorating paint.
- $1,263,478.45 as disgorgement of a portion of rents received by Dalfin and his affiliates on properties with city or county lead paint-related code violations, as a remedy to what Attorney General James in the July filing called the “wide-ranging persistent and repeated illegality through which [the group] conducted their rental operation in Buffalo.”
Dalfin has either sold or abandoned all the properties he once owned or managed in the city of Buffalo.
