A landlord in Prince George’s County was held liable to a tenant for injuries sustained as a consequence of a fire that started when a blocked exhaust hose caused a dryer to overheat.

Tamara Mariner sustained serious injuries as a result of a fire in her apartment building. She contended that the fire had started because the landlord had not properly maintained the exhaust hose from the dryer in the apartment where the fire originated. Although the landlord acknowledged that it had the duty to maintain the clothes dryers at the complex, the landlord contended that the fire had started not in the dryer, but at the stove where a tenant habitually heated potpourri. The jury accepted the tenant’s argument and awarded her nearly $500,000 in compensatory damages.

Southern Management Corporation, et al. v. Tamara Mariner, No. 813, September Term, 2001, in the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, filed May 2, 2002.