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Posted on Thu, Sep. 22, 2005

Mold a growing issue in nation's courts

GRAHAM BRINK

St. sburg Times

Bradenton Herald - FL

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/12707956.htm

CRYSTAL BEACH - Doug Summers won't enter the triplex on Avery Avenue

without a hazmat suit and a full-face respirator.

He's worried about mold. Not just any mold, but the kind that can

make you sick, said Summers, a certified indoor environmentalist.

" I have not seen a building with readings so high, " Summers said. " I

wouldn't live there. "

He has run tests in connection with a Pinellas County lawsuit

brought by tenants who rented the three units.

The tenants say they have suffered a slew of medical woes since

moving in, including respiratory problems, memory loss and extreme

fatigue. Most have moved out, but they want their rent and deposits

back and compensation for their ailments.

The owners of the complex and the management company dispute that

the mold levels are high enough to cause injury. They accused one

set of tenants of trumping up the claim by " farming mold " in their

unit.

Mold has become a hot area of litigation, with thousands of similar

disputes playing out across the country in recent years.

The number of cases and the potential liability has insurance

companies, home builders, landlords and property managers looking

for cover.

The relationship between mold and serious ill health, however,

remains cloudy. The uncertainty only exacerbates the disputes.

Mold is everywhere

It is the most common fungus and comes in many species. Mold growth

helps produce cheese, beer and bread. Penicillin is a byproduct of

mold.

Unless you live in a hermetically sealed bubble, you are breathing

it right now. It's in your home, your office, your car. So-called

fresh air is often loaded with mold.

Molds thrive in moist environments. The characteristic helps explain

why many of the lawsuits stem from some sort of water damage that

allowed abnormally high amounts of mold to take root and spread.

Unchecked water damage also can breed particularly virulent types of

mold, some experts say.

That's what happened to the triplex at 307 Avery Ave., according to

the plaintiffs.

Whitman moved into the middle unit with her husband and

three children in April. They liked the quiet, dead-end street. The

three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment rented for $895 a month.

Whitman felt sick within days. Her doctor diagnosed it as anxiety.

Later, she got thrush, a contagious disease caused by fungus. She

went to the emergency room with respiratory problems, she said.

Her 4-year-old daughter developed full-blown asthma and her husband

began forgetting things, she said.

Whitman wasn't sure what was causing the problems, but after

searching the Internet, she began to suspect mold.

" It fit everything that was going on, " Whitman said. " My husband had

also found mold while doing some work on the building. "

Whitman contacted the property management company. She said she got

the feeling the company only wanted to move them out and get new

tenants in without remedying the problem.

" That's when I contacted a lawyer, " she said. " I didn't want anyone

else to get sick. "

Dangerous mold counts

Summers, the indoor air expert, visited the triplex in July with

Scoobie M.D., his certified mold-sniffing dog.

The Whitmans and the other plaintiffs hired him to look for any mold

and collect samples. He walked in without his hazmat suit or a

respirator. He doesn't like to alarm people unnecessarily.

Summers collected samples from several locations using varying

techniques for about four hours. Afterward, his eyes burned. He felt

ill for a few days.

" It was obvious something bad was happening inside, " he said. " I

felt sorry for the people living in there. "

An independent lab tested the collected samples. The mold levels

were way above average, according to the lab. A handful of

subsequent tests confirmed similar levels in the two other units in

the triplex.

Summers found visible fungal growth in several areas, including the

enclosed garages, a bathroom and near a leaky window. The interior

of a truck owned by one of the tenants had a fuzzy growth on the

steering wheel and seats.

Stan Stoudenmire, a environmental specialist with the Pinellas

County Health Department, recommended in a letter to the Whitmans'

lawyer that all the building's tenants immediately contact their

doctors.

" These mold counts, in my opinion, represent a threat to the

tenants, " Stoudenmire wrote.

Stoudenmire and Summers were both particularly concerned with the

high level of aspergillus and stachybotrys, sometimes referred to as

toxic black mold.

Stachybotrys does not breed overnight. It requires a lot of moisture

for a long period of time, Summers said. It can also give off a

dangerous mycotoxin gas.

Summers never went back in the building without a respirator and

protective equipment.

Flood of lawsuits

A few years ago, mold was barely on the judicial radar. The small

number of claims were usually settled for a few thousand dollars.

Then came the Ballard case.

Melinda Ballard and Ron 's 7,400-square-foot mansion near

Austin, Texas, became infested with mold. and the couple's

son suffered neurological and respiratory problems. Their insurance

company refused to pay on the mold claim.

A jury awarded the couple $32 million. It was later reduced to $4

million.

The case thrust mold into the judicial spotlight. A flood of

lawsuits followed. About 10,000 are currently pending across the

country, experts estimate.

The average payout rose, as well. Six- and seven-figure settlements

became routine. Most of the cases never went to trial.

" It's not that insurance companies thought that all the claims had

merit, " said Loretta Worters, vice president of the Insurance

Information Institute. " They couldn't risk such huge losses.

Sometimes it's hard to counter hysteria. "

Experts agree that common molds can cause sinusitis, itchy eyes and

wheezing. People with acute mold allergies or asthma could face more

severe respiratory distress.

In rare cases, molds can trigger potentially fatal infections in

patients with compromised or immature immune systems. And eating

certain food-born molds can cause seizures.

After that, the consensus erodes.

Claims of cancer, miscarriages, memory loss and severe neurological

illness are met with skepticism from some researchers and especially

the attorneys who defend against mold claims. They argue that no

causal link has been proven between common mold exposure and severe

ill health, a claim supported by the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention.

Others counter that researchers are only beginning to understand how

molds can affect humans. They argue that for decades, the government

did not officially recognize asbestos and smoking as acute health

risks, despite obvious signs to the contrary.

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