New Orleans Office Workers Can Pursue Action

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New Orleans Office Workers Can Pursue Action As A Class

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Related Document: Opinion - MOL-0408-15 (PDF format)

NEW ORLEANS — An estimated 580 Louisiana state employees who allege

that environmental problems were ignored by state agencies can sue

those agencies as a class, a state trial court ruled recently.

Watters v. Department of Social Services, et al., No. 01-17755 (La.

Dist. Ct., Orleans Parish).

Orleans Parish District Judge Louis A. Di concluded in a judgment

released on July 20 that the claims of plaintiffs in two consolidated

actions assert common issues of fact and law sufficient for class

certification under Article 591 of the Louisiana Code of Civil

Procedure.

The two lawsuits were brought by Sherry Watters and four co-

plaintiffs, on behalf of state workers, and and nine

others who worked as child caregivers for the Louisiana Department of

Social Services. Judge Di certified those plaintiffs as two

classes:

'All present or past individuals employed by the State who worked in

Plaza Towers at any time from 1996 to present, who have [been]

exposed to toxic substances and all individuals assigned after the

day of filing of this petition.'

'All present or past 'contract foster-parents' of the Department of

Social Services who were required by the terms of their contractual

duties to occupy the 'Plaza Tower' office building from 1995 to the

date of their departure from the building who were exposed to fungal

substances such as mold and mold spores which were growing on

building materials and the by-products of the mold and mold spores

that were released into the air.'

Judge Di also appointed the name plaintiffs in each action as

class representatives, and their counsel as class counsel.

Defendants include Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals,

Department of Social Services, and the Department of Administration,

which oversees office space for the state.

The Watters and plaintiffs allege that workers in the Plaza

Towers offices complained of ill effects from mold and other air

quality problems almost from the time the building was occupied in

1995.

In summarizing plaintiffs' complaints, Judge Di said a state

toxicologist visited the building in 1997 and twice in 2001 because

of complaints and reported that employers were complaining of

headaches, infections, sore throats, flu-like symptoms and allergic

reasons. The illnesses were blamed on overflowing toilets, roof and

ceiling leaks and wet carpets, the judge said.

The state did not test for mold until Oct. 12, 2001, the judge said.

Judge Di noted that the court heard from Dr. Chin S. Young and

Dr. R. Gray and other plaintiffs' experts on the adverse

health effects.

The judge said that while the state's expert, Dr. Bruce Kelman,

testified that there were insufficient mold spores to cause the

illnesses complained of by five class members he examined, Dr. Kelman

is not a microbiologist.

Despite his negative view of the effects of mold, he did admit that

mold in an indoor environment should be cleaned and is bad and that

water damage in a building can confirm mold growth,' Judge Di

said. 'The Court did not believe that this testimony altered the

arguments of plaintiffs in both class action certifications,

concerning the detrimental effects present in this particular

building,' the judge explained.

The Watters and plaintiffs reached a reported $4.25 million

settlement with building insurers earlier this year.

Mickey P. Landry of Landry & Swarr in New Orleans and G.

Creely, L. Hackett and Madro Bandaries of Amato and Creely in

Gretna, La., represent the Watters and plaintiffs.

The State of Louisiana is represented by Bolner Jr. of Berrigan

Lichfield Schonekas Mann Traina & in New Orleans.

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