Settlement reached in moldy schools case

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http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/ts_more.php?id=62502_0_10_0_M36

Almost 600 plaintiffs from Aiken, Besteiro to receive undisclosed

amount

By KEVIN GARCIA

The Brownsville Herald

December 2, 2004 — Builders and designers of two schools that were

under scrutiny for high mold levels have reached a settlement with

almost 600 plaintiffs who allege the mold caused them personal

injury.

A hearing is scheduled for Friday to finalize an undisclosed

settlement to be divided among parents, on behalf of the students,

and employees of Aiken Elementary and Besteiro Middle School.

" This is the first case of its kind in the country where students,

parents and teachers have brought a lawsuit for personal injuries

based on personal injuries from so-called toxic mold, " said M.

Zavaletta, attorney for the plaintiffs.

The case was filed Nov. 26, 2001, with 92 plaintiffs concerned about

high mold levels found at the schools. Originally involving 92

plaintiffs, the case grew to 591 students, parents and teachers. The

following January, the schools were closed and did not reopen until

March 2004.

The defendants include several design, engineering, architectural

and construction firms, and at one time included the Brownsville

Independent School District. The district was not involved with this

case at the time a settlement was reached, but is involved in

related lawsuits.

The case, " Angel Castillo and lba Castillo, et al. v.

Carroll Dusang and Rand Inc., et al, " went before 197th state

District Court Judge Migdalia , who approved the settlement in

September.

The terms of the agreement have been kept confidential as part of

the settlement, but most plaintiffs have signed releases that will

allow the case to have a final hearing Friday.

" I have been able to secure the signed releases from all but two of

the 591 plaintiffs, " Zavaletta said. " (The remaining two) don't

agree with the amount that they would receive under the settlement. "

Regardless, the remaining two will receive their portion of the

settlement.

The monetary settlement was divided between plaintiffs by an

independent arbitrator based on the actual days each plaintiff

attended the school.

The lead plaintiff in the case, Angel Castillo, was a custodian at

Aiken Elementary.

" He had been the custodian at the school since the time that it

opened, " Zavaletta said. " He had the most knowledge of what was

inside the school. "

Castillo could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The case was stalled in February 2002 when Zavaletta's engineering

experts saw areas that had apparently been repainted during the time

the schools were closed.

" It seemed to me and to the court that steps had been taken towards

a cover-up of the true extent of the problem, " Zavaletta said. " That

compromised our investigation of the case because we needed to do

testing at the schools. "

By summer 2003 the district had been dismissed from the case because

the judge found that it qualified for governmental immunity against

negligence claims, said BISD attorney Mike Saldaña.

" (Plaintiffs) are alleging that the district was negligent in the

care or maintenance of the school and since the cause of action was

based in negligence, that is clearly one of the areas where

governmental immunity applies, " he said.