Judge: class action lawsuit not allowed in mold case

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Judge: class action lawsuit not allowed in mold case

By Waldron Daily Herald Staff Writer

Posted Wednesday, May 26, 2004

Thousands of former St. East High School students Tuesday

lost the option of joining a three-year-old lawsuit filed against the

St. school district seeking damages resulting from the so-

called mold crisis that temporarily shut down the school in April

2001.

In a decision that will set the scope of the legal action, Kane

County Judge Colwell ruled that the mold case couldn't be

expanded into a class action lawsuit.

On a practical level, that means the two former students and

cafeteria worker named on the original suit brought in 2001 will be

the only plaintiffs allowed in the case.

" It's a pretty crucial ruling in the case, " said Smyth, an

attorney for the school district. " It's beneficial because if anyone

chooses to sue, they are going to have to file individual suits. "

For more than a decade before the school closed, teachers and

students complained of ailments such as fatigue and headaches while

in the building. In 2001, a likely source of those complaints was

discovered in the form of potentially dangerous mold found growing in

several parts of the school.

District officials closed the school for 18 months and spent nearly

$30 million removing the mold and repairing the building. The lawsuit

came just weeks before the building's closure.

In June 2001, Craig Mielke, an attorney for the students and the

worker, filed a motion asking for the class action status.

Tuesday's ruling denying that motion doesn't end the suit but is

considered a setback, Mielke said. A similar action to get the

teachers included was denied last year.

" We continue to move forward, " he said, adding that he'll try to

appeal.

But without a larger plaintiff pool, the lawsuit risks becoming

unpractical, Mielke said.

" It's not like we would have brought the case only for one or two

students, " he said. " It's only worthwhile to do it as a class. "

For example, if the case was won and a judge said each student was

entitled to $5,000 in damages, that is $15,000 under the original

filing.

The same type of judgment involving a class made up of students

attending the school between October 1997 and June 2001 could include

more than 4,000 students. The same judgment then means $20 million.