A landlords’ attorney used racist language to refer to COVID-19 during a discussion about court reopening on a Bronx Housing Court listserv Thursday, and several tenants’ attorneys say the comment is an example of a larger problem in the court.

Evan Rogers, a solo practitioner who used the phrase “Chinese cooties” in an email to the listserv, said he meant to send the email to a friend, rather than the whole listserv. The phrase was an “unfortunate choice of words,” he said, but wasn’t meant to be a slur or derogatory.