Disturbed’s David Draiman Down with Mould Sickness, Suing Landlord │ Exclaim!

While Disturbed are in the midst of celebrating 25 years of The Sickness on tour, frontman David Draiman is apparently suffering from an illness that he is most certainly less thrilled about being down with.

As Law360 reports [via Stereogum], the vocalist is suing his landlord, Andy Balgobin, over a sickness Draiman claims was caused by mould from a leaky roof at his rental property near the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL, that he alleges is impacting his career as a touring and recording artist.

In a legal complaint filed on March 11, Draiman accused Balgobin of negligent misrepresentation of the building’s condition. According to the musician, the landlord did not bring the leaks and mould to his attention prior to his decision to sign the lease, and after Draiman raised concerns about the mould, Balgobin had falsely assured him that the leaks would be fixed.

The repairs not being made ultimately led the Disturbed frontman to move out, and he claims he has yet to recover his $37,000 USD security deposit from the landlord. Draiman was reportedly paying $18,500 per month to rent the six-bedroom, 5,200-square-foot waterfront home.

Draiman’s lawsuit specifically accuses Balgobin of fraudulent representation, fraud, unjust enrichment and negligence. The vocalist wrote that his body’s reaction to the mould exposure “impacts his ability to sing as he is lead singer of a prominent rock band with tour dates and recording time and fully advised defendant of the same,” with the document likewise stating that the “uninhabitability and mould concerns” have “resulted in impacts to plaintiff’s singing career, recording and studio time with medical concerns.”

Especially in prolonged cases, exposure to mould can result in a wide variety of health symptoms depending on factors like the type of mould (and whether it produces mycotoxins), as well as if the person exposed has a compromised immune system.