Teachers get settlement in mold lawsuit

March 10, 2002

By Jess Sullivan

FAIRFIELD -- The 2-year-old lawsuit of several teachers of Crescent

Elementary School claiming injuries from toxic mold contamination ended this

week.

Judge Moelk dismissed the lawsuit Monday after the teachers agreed to

a final settlement with two contractors who were hired by the

Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District to try and fix the mold problem.

The final settlement, which all parties agreed to keep confidential, was

reached in January. Previously, one contractor had offered each of eight

teachers still involved in the lawsuit $1,250 each to settle the case.

The lawsuit claimed the district, several of its administrators and a pair

of contractors had conspired to hide the extent of a mold contamination

problem at Crescent Elementary School in Suisun City.

The teachers claimed the mold contamination problem created an unsafe

workplace and caused a variety of ailments, illnesses and serious health

problems.

" The ultimate irony of this whole thing is how the district used the issue

to help push the bond measure through, " said attorney Herbert P. , who

represented the teachers.

The day after the suit was dismissed, voters approved a $100 million school

bond measure with some of those funds targeted at fixing once and for all

the mold problems in district classrooms.

The district has spent more than $2.5 million dollars trying to clean up the

mold problem at Crescent and for providing temporary classrooms to replace

those closed during cleanup efforts.

The district was dropped from the lawsuit in December 2000 when Moelk ruled

any injuries the teachers had would fall under the umbrella of workers'

compensation.

" We got a result, not a grand courtroom victory, but the teachers made their

point, " said of the settlement of the case, which he described as

" kind of like kissing your sister. "

Another defendant in the lawsuit, Dr. P. Suchard, previously settled

with the teachers, giving them $935 each to resolve claims he disclosed

confidential medical information to district officials after examining the

teachers.

The proposed settlement and Suchard's settlement were a far cry from $25,000

initially asked for by each teacher.

Jess Sullivan can be reached at jsullivan@....

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