Mold blamed in health issues; $100 million lawsuit pending

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http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/articles/0802/05/new02.asp

Monday, August 5, 2002

Mold blamed in health issues; $100 million lawsuit pending

By Breuer

Staff Writer

PASADENA - Something awful is happening to children at the Kings Villages

housing complex, says longtime tenant Annie .

Many wake in the night with heavy nosebleeds, and have asthma so bad their

mothers keep breathing machines by their beds. Some have rashes resembling

ringworm.

According to , this is no " X-File " the cause is obvious.

She says excessive mold in some units a by-product of years of sewage

backups, bad plumbing, leaky roofs and other moisture-causing defects is

making the children sick and may be causing health problems in some adults.

" I never heard tell of so many children on a breathing machine, "

said this week as neighbors crammed into her living room to share stories of

sick children and uncaring property managers. " There are too many sick

people in here. "

Both the city's top environmental health official and the owners of the

33-year-old, 313-unit project in Northwest Pasadena acknowledge some units

have mold and sick children living there, but say there's no proof one is

causing the other.

" I'm not disputing they have those conditions, " said Mel Lim, Pasadena's

environmental health division manager. " The difficult part is saying the

mold caused that illness. "

Encino attorney Marshall L. Bitkower, who says he represents close to 50

current and former Kings Villages tenants, says he's so confident that mold

is causing the health problems that he will file a lawsuit Friday and ask

for $100 million in punitive damages.

The city of San Francisco filed a somewhat similar lawsuit Jan. 31, saying

the owners of four apartment complexes ignored orders to get rid of toxic

mold and other problems. Many tenants of the federally subsidized buildings

blamed the mold for rashes, hacking coughs, respiratory problems, headaches,

nosebleeds and high blood pressure.

Conway, the attorney for Kings Villages owner Affordable Housing

Development Corp. of Clovis, said the company has recently been testing

units for mold and will soon send in professionals to properly clean those

units that need it.

" My clients are high quality operators who want to make sure their people

are taken care of, " said Conway.

Bitkower said that, any time there's a mold problem, management has

historically painted over it instead of calling experts.

He said one of the units recently tested positive for an unusually high

amount of stachybotrys a particularly toxic mold that can cause health

problems once airborne.

" These mold items can easily be spread and carried from Kings Villages and

could destroy Pasadena, " Bitkower wrote in a July 22 letter to city

officials.

The tenant in that unit, Rhonda Witherspoon, showed how she keeps a machine

next to her 10-year-old son's bed that administers medication to control

asthma attacks.

She says she's sure the asthma would subside if she moved.

But " right now, I'm a single mother, so this is what I can afford, "

Witherspoon said.

A wall in her bathroom was covered with grayish spots and specks.

" When I report the problem they paint over it, but paint don't stop it, "

Witherspoon complained.

ny Carson's former sidekick Ed McMahon made the same complaint in April,

suing his insurance company for $20 million. McMahon said that, after a

flood in his home caused a stachybotrys mold, the contractors painted over

it. McMahon complained that he and his wife became seriously ill and their

sheepdog developed respiratory problems and died.

Children and pets are particularly susceptible to diseases caused by mold

spores, Bitkower said.

Marilyn , a neighborhood day-care provider, says she's surprised so

many of the children from Kings Villages have asthma and other problems such

as learning disabilities.

" I see these babies being born healthy ... and degenerating before my eyes, "

said.

Tenant Leopoldo Oliveros said his three children all have nosebleeds and

asthma, and he fears he's suffering memory loss.

Conway provided a July 17 letter which he said was sent to Kings Villages

residents, saying an environmental testing firm had been hired to do on-site

screenings for mold in several units. The letter goes on to provide a phone

number to report problems.

" If we uncover mold or any other problem, we will work swiftly and

thoroughly to eliminate it as soon as possible, " the letter says.

Bitkower says that none of his clients received the letter, which he said

appears to be a damage-control tactic in anticipation of his lawsuit.

Another such tactic, he added, was a lease amendment tenants were recently

urged to sign saying they " agree to maintain the premises in a manner that

prevents the occurrence of an infestation of mold or mildew in the

premises. "

Conway defended the document.

" There's nothing tricky about it, " he said. " It's saying: `If there's a mold

problem, you need to let us know about it.' "

He characterized Bitkower's letters to city officials as reckless and

unprofessional.

" You have to have not only bombastic statements but also lay out some

evidence, " said Conway.

As he downplayed the mold problem at Kings Villages, Conway also emphasized

that his clients have been working hard to improve the project, which was

dilapidated when they acquired it only about 18 months ago from

Pottmeyer.

Part of the problem, according to Bitkower, Lim and others, is that

scientists are still learning about mold and its effects upon people's

health. There are more than 300,000 species of mold, some more harmful than

others, says mold specialist Hatcher (www.byebyemold.com), who found

the stachybotrys in Witherspoon's apartment.

Last year, environmental activist Brockovich testified before the state

senate's Health and Human Services committee about respiratory problems and

sinus infections she blamed on mold problems in her Agoura Hills home.

The hearings led to the state's Toxic Mold Protection Act, which became

effective Jan. 1. The law directs the state Department of Health Services

(DHS) to explore the feasibility of setting exposure limits and to devise

standards for the assessment, identification and remediation of indoor mold.

Bitkower says he also favors a federal proposal to require mold inspection

and remediation when a property is sold.

-- Breuer can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4444, or by e-mail

at howard.breuersgvn.com.