A Houston family is suing the previous owner of their home, alleging his use of the property as a marijuana grow house caused mold and left both their children in hospital.
Andrew Nguyen was arrested in 2012 when police found nearly 100 pounds of marijuana being grown in ‘every room of the house’, Chron.com reported.
A police release said: ‘in every room of the house which included the living room, the kitchen, the family room and numerous bedrooms, a plant like substance… recognized to be marijuana by its smell and by its appearance was being grown, cultivated, harvested, or processed for distribution’.
Images from the scene showed plants in tubs in multiple rooms, and harvested crops laid out on tables, with smaller fragments laying around the kitchen, lying on the floor, and pouring out of garbage bags.
In 2015, Michelle and Vinny Nguyen (left) bought a home in Houston, before renting it out to their daughter Gabrielle (right) and her family
The family were outraged to learn their dream family home was once a marijuana grow house (pictured)
In 2012, former owner Andrew Nguyen was arrested after police found 100 pounds of marijuana in his home (pictured)
The plants were in ‘every room of the house’ police said, and harvested crops were laid out on the floor and other flat surfaces
Gabrielle Nguyen and Jimmy Phan had to rush both their children to hospital shortly after moving in as they developed respiratory conditions
Pictured: What police found in Andrew Nguyen’s house when he was arrested for possession of marijuana
The home was sold to Vinnie and Monique Nguyen, who moved in during 2015, and then rented the property to their daughter Gabrielle and her family.
Pictures from the home’s advertisement show a transformed home, flaunting its benefits as a place to raise a family, with carpet replaced for wood flooring and not a drug to be seen.
George Edwards III, who is representing the family, said just months after the young family moved in, their son and daughter were hospitalized with breathing difficulties.
The family were left puzzled as to what had happened, and it was not until they began to renovate the home that its sordid history was uncovered.
Mold had infested the inside of the walls, the ceiling and under the floor, which is believed to have caused respiratory problems with their children.
After the growhouse incident, the house was renovated (pictured in 2015 before Michelle and Vinny Nguyen bought the property)
The carpet in the home was torn up and it appears the house was given a fresh coat of paint
Far from its sordid past, the home appeared to have been marketed as a family residence
Where marijuana once coated the floor and a coffee table was protected by a garbage bag, a rug and leather couches were seen
The Nguyen family say they had no idea about the home’s history when they bought it
As they began to look more into the history of the home, they discovered it was once a grow house – something neither Gabrielle or her parents had been aware of.
The family say they were not aware of the vast amounts of mold and are now suing Nguyen for failing to ‘disclose their awareness of previous water penetration onto and into the property’.
Mitchell Katine, lawyer for Andrew Nguyen, said his client had offered full inspections, and had cut down the price of the home by $6,000.
‘They did not cover anything up,’ he said. ‘They offered the buyers any inspection they wanted.’
‘There is no evidence that the marijuana growing caused any mold.’
The family decided to sue after discovering mold in the walls, ceiling and floor, which is believed to have caused the children to be hospitalised
They allege the growth of marijuana caused the damage to the walls, ceiling and floor
But legal representation for Andrew Nguyen said the family were offered any inspection of the property before purchase
Attorney Mitchell Katine said there is also no evidence his client’s grow house (pictured) was to blame for the mold