Suit says mold ruined home

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http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/8157447.htm

Mar. 11, 2004

Suit says mold ruined $1 million local homeBY HURST LAVIANAThe Wichita Eagle

One side claims the house at 1310 Perth Court is worth nearly $1 million.

The other side says the tile-roofed, stucco house near 13th and Oliver is infested with mold and is virtually worthless.

A Sedgwick County jury that will settle the dispute began deliberations Wednesday after hearing 2 ½ weeks of testimony about the house and the mold that resides in its walls.

Evidence showed that Ron and Tyler, who built the house in the mid-1980s, sold it to Bill and Jeanine in 1998.

The es contend in their lawsuit that they were forced to move out of the residence for health reasons when they learned of an extensive amount of mold that was living in the walls.

They contend that the mold could be traced to leaks in the tile roof, and that the leaks should have been mentioned in a seller's disclosure statement that was signed by the Tylers.

The Tylers contended that, to the best of their knowledge, the roof was sound when the sale occurred. They said they had no way of knowing whether mold was hidden in the walls.

One of the plaintiffs, Bill , is a former chief executive of Co. Defendant Ron Tyler is a co-founder of the Residence Inn chain whose gifts to the Wichita State University baseball program prompted the team to name its field after him.

Wichita lawyer Randy Rathbun, who represents the plaintiffs, told the jury in his closing remarks that the case involved more than mold.

"When people ask you what this case was about, don't tell them that it's about mold," he said. "This case is about honesty and being fair to people when you're dealing with them. Society won't work if we're not honest in our transactions.

"This was clearly a roof that had a problem. A serious problem."

Rathbun said the Tylers were recklessly negligent -- possibly even fraudulent -- when they sold the house without mentioning problems with the roof.

He likened the case to driving through a 20 mph school zone. Driving through at 30 mph would be careless, he said, and driving through at 40 could be considered reckless.

"In this case, Mr. Tyler blasted through the school zone at 50 or 60," he said. "I think the evidence shows clearly that we have fraud on Mr. Tyler's part."

Al Herrington, who represents the defendants, said Rathbun's claims amounted to the "character assassination" of the Tylers.

"Fraud is a serious proposition," he said. "This is not a picture of fraud. This is a picture of people who had a house they were proud of.

"The truth is, this is an unfortunate situation. This house -- unknown to the Tylers -- had some problems. It's a situation we all wish had not occurred."

Herrington said the Tylers mentioned in the sales documents that the roof had been repaired in the past. He said they assumed the roof was in good shape when the sale occurred. He said they did not know of any problems with mold.

"The Tylers could not have known there was moisture in the walls," he said.

Herrington said Wichita contractors have estimated that the house could be repaired -- made "clean as a whistle" -- for less than $120,000.

The jury was told that if it decides that the Tylers' actions were fraudulent, a separate hearing would be held by District Judge Terry Pullman to determine the amount of punitive damages.

The jury resumes deliberations today.

Reach Hurst Laviana at 268-6499 or hlaviana@....