Mold trial pushed back to 2009

[Guest guest]

Mold trial pushed back to 2009

Wabash Valley Surgery and Eye Care employees filed suit in 2002

Terre Haute Tribune Star - Terre Haute,IN*

By Deb

The Tribune-Star

http://www.tribstar.com/news/local_story_298234905.html

TERRE HAUTE — Plaintiffs in a five-year-old personal-injury lawsuit

against a Terre Haute eye clinic may have to wait until at least

early 2009 for their day in court.

A trial date of Feb. 23, 2009, was set Thursday in the lawsuit that

alleges that 14 employees became ill because of mold in the Wabash

Valley Surgery and Eye Center.

Filed in April 2002, the case came before Judge Adler on

Thursday for a new trial date and for the parties to argue three

separate motions for summary judgment – two from defendants and one

from plaintiffs.

The case stems from incidents in 1995 through 2001, in which

employees at the eye center began experiencing respiratory

illnesses, headaches and fatigue.

One defendant – CDI Inc., the builder of the eye center – is arguing

for summary judgment on a theory that the plaintiffs failed to file

the lawsuit within the statute of limitations. Two other defendants,

Associated Physicians & Surgeons Clinic LLC, and AP & S LLC II, are

arguing for summary judgment on a theory that AP & S was not the

entity responsible for maintaining the building at the time of the

alleged illnesses, and should not be included in the suit. Finally,

the plaintiffs seek summary judgment to stop defendant CDI Inc. from

naming one of its subcontractors as a non-party to the lawsuit.

After arguments Thursday, Adler said he would review the pleadings

and rule in 30 days.

Twelve of the plaintiffs are represented by Terre Haute attorney

Gambill; one by Chou-Il Lee, and another by L. ,

both Terre Haute attorneys.

CDI Inc. is represented by H. Daerr of the Locke Reynolds law

firm in Indianapolis; AP & S LLC and AP & S LLC II both are represented

by ph D. O'Connor III of the Bunger & on law firm in

Bloomington, and Artenka Design, the architect, is represented by

Jeff Blazi of the Stuart & Branigin law firm in Indianapolis.

As part of the initial lawsuit, plaintiffs alleged that building

contractor CDI Inc. and owner AP & S failed to:

• Properly maintain the building at 422 Poplar St.;

• Repair it after defects were discovered;

• Require adequate heating, ventilation and air conditioning to be

installed;

• Make CDI design and build properly and use the proper materials;

and

• The builder's and property owner's negligence led to the growth of

stachybotrys and other types of molds that sickened the staff

working in the building.

Stachybotrys is a greenish-black, slimy mold that thrives on damp

cellulose products such as wood and paper. It and other types of

mold can release toxic chemicals known as mycotoxins. Exposure to

stachybotrys can cause chronic respiratory disease, including the

development of asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention.

Plaintiffs had developed adult-onset asthma, memory loss, sinusitis

and allergic rhinitis, according to a Tribune-Star report in 2004.

According to Craig McKee, former attorney for AP & S Clinic, Union

Hospital took steps to fix the problem when mold was discovered at

the facility in 2000. AP & S Clinic is part of Union Hospital Health

Group. The physicians who work at the clinic belong to AP & S but the

support staff are employees of Union Hospital, which leases the

building from AP & S.

Workers removed mold, replaced windows and repaired the roof. The

repairs were finished in 2001.

Adler said Thursday that an earlier trial date for the case will not

be possible because of renovations in the Vigo County Courthouse.

Adler, who presides over cases in Vigo County Superior Court

Division 2, has been occupying a small courtroom in the Community

Corrections Center at the corner of Ohio and First streets where he

hears civil lawsuits.

He said Thursday that the AP & S trial " can't happen in this

courtroom, " because of the great number of attorneys and exhibits.

The permanent courtroom for Division 2 — in the courthouse — is not

expected to be complete until at least summer 2008, Adler said.

Because the trial is expected to last about four to five weeks,

Adler suggested delaying it until early 2009.

Adler also said he looked into borrowing another judge's courtroom

in the courthouse, but it isn't workable. Part of the reason Adler

was temporarily assigned to the Community Corrections building is

that he hears only civil cases, in which the defendants are not

incarcerated.

All the other Vigo County judges hear criminal cases, and many of

their defendants are coming to court from the Vigo County jail –

across Ohio Street from the Community Corrections building.

If Adler were to switch courtrooms with another judge for the

duration of the trial, he said, the Sheriff's Department would have

to hire additional security to escort inmates from the jail to the

other building. Currently, inmates are walked from the jail a short

distance to the courthouse.

Deb can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.mckee@....

[Guest guest]

They may give excuses, but to me its obvious that this is intentional to

keep all these people in a limbo for years. It makes the situation far worse

that it otherwise would be for them, physically, emotionally and

economically.

Its like those people who win lawsuits but then the judge steps in and gives

them one dollar. Its an insult to justice.