Glasgow, Scotland – Hospital showers and taps could be a significant source of life-threatening fungus infections for patients with weakened immune systems, researchers reported Monday.Aspergillus, a toxic mold that has been linked to permanent and severe neurological, pathalogical, immunological and psychological health problems was discovered. Despite efforts to combat it with high-tech air filtration and […]
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hilton Hotels Corp. on Tuesday reported second-quarter earnings that held up better than many of its peers, but lowered its outlook for the rest of the year bringing it more in line with the rest of the struggling hotel industry. Hilton reported second-quarter net income of $76 million, or 20 cents […]
BALTIMORE – A Maryland federal judge on Jan. 24 held that her court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over a mold exposure suit after finding that a management company employee was not fraudulently joined (Marina Eddy, et al. v. C.B. Richard Ellis Inc., No. CCB 00-3426, D. Md.; See January 2000, Page 22). (Memorandum […]
Emily Peters / The Town Talk Randy Patterson, district facilities director, looks at a panel covered with mold at North Bayou Rapides Elementary. A new report states the mold is not an imminent threat to people’s health. Mold is growing in North Bayou Rapides Elementary School, but not at the alarming airborne levels previously thought. […]
Edward M. Eveld Protect Your House from Mold With help from Jay Portnoy, chief of allergy medicine at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., and allergist Jeffrey Wald, here’s a primer about mold. Q: What is mold? A: It’s a fungus, of which there are many species. For the most part, molds are saprophytes, […]
Hilton Hawaiian Village, embroiled in sometimes acrimonious contract talks and pre-occupied by crisis management as experts study mold in the one-year old Kalia Tower, has still won a victory in its effort to build yet another tower. The Honolulu City Council’s Zoning Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to send the Hilton’s plan for a 350-unit timeshare […]
James R. Swinehart When a mold claim is presented under a first-party property policy, it is important to consider whether one or more of the exclusions may apply. Below we discuss a number of exclusions common to a first-party property policy which may apply to a claim for property damage from mold. Although many of […]
Austin, TX – The members of TAR’s Risk Reduction Committee have discussed issues related to mold claims since the summer of 2000. At this time, the committee suggests the following. Client means a buyer or seller. Inform your client that mold may be a concern for buyers, sellers, brokers, inspectors, appraisers, and lenders. Tell your […]
2/25/04 San Bernadino, CA ? Jurors in California have returned a defense verdict in what is believed to be the first mold-related wrongful death case to go to trial in the United States, HarrisMartin Publishing is reporting. Dayton, et al. v. Highlands Mobile Home Estates, No. SCVSS655567 (Calif. Super. Ct., San Bernardino Cty.). In a statement […]
They say the fungus causes health problems. Insurance companies say covering mold claims would make rates rise again since they couldn’t make much profits. 8/20/02 Temple Terrace, FL – Staffers for Florida Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher came to the Tampa Bay area Monday to hear homeowners and insurance officials complain about a burgeoning problem with toxic […]
3/12/03 Atlanta, GA – The Atlanta City Council will meet Monday night in regular session to discuss items including a mold problem and delay in improvements at the airport. City Manager Mike Ahrens said the city has a contract with the Texas Department of Transportation to make some improvements at the Atlanta Hall-Miller Airport, but […]
Tampa, FL – Any way you look at mold in Florida – either as a legitimate health threat or as an overblown nuisance – you’ve got to figure this icky mess will cost somebody, and unfortunately most responsible parties do not want to take responsibility. Insurers claim they are getting socked with claims on homeowners’ insurance […]
9/1/02 Danbury, Connecticut – Across the country, headlines tell the horror stories of indoor mold: Schools are closed; families abandon homes with breakfast dishes still in the sink; Ed McMahon’s dog dies; lawsuits by sick workers threaten to bankrupt businesses. The tales are terrifying and true. Indoor mold a genuine health threat that is turning into […]
11/22/02 Memphis, TN – Mold is forcing the University of Memphis to renovate its student health center building. The mortar between the exterior bricks on the 1967 building has become too porous and is allowing in too much moisture, forming ripe conditions for mold, officials said Thursday. “We found some areas of mold that were […]
February 7, 2003 Mold is nothing to get sick over — at least in most cases. So claimed environmental experts Thursday at a seminar addressing what they believe has spread to become more a media overreaction than a health concern. This has made many ethical experts wonder. “In most cases when you’re dealing with mold […]
by Jay Romano, NY Times26 Jan, 2003 ACCORDING to the Insurance Information Institute, an industry organization based in New York, there are more than 10,000 mold-related lawsuits pending in state courts across the country. And while most of those suits were filed in states like Florida, California and Texas – where weather conditions make it […]
5/4/03 Ongoing media coverage of the case against ex-cop Karl Waldon is not reason enough for the upcoming trial to be moved outside of Jacksonville, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. Waldon’s attorneys argued last month that heavy publicity surrounding the case had tainted the potential juror pool. But U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams Jr. […]
2/26/04 Jacksonville, FL – Mold in homes is the target of lawmakers who are eying changes to Florida law. On Wednesday, several lawmakers held a mold workshop to hear from homeowners, insurance companies and businesses that make it their business to clean up mold. Linda Armstrong came to share her experiences. The homeowner from Mandarin […]
George West, TX – The area along County Road 303 is green, lush and deceptively peaceful as it winds down into the Nueces River bottom in Live Oak County. Rounding a corner into flood-stricken neighborhoods is like suddenly descending into a wasteland. When the residents of Old Swimming Hole subdivision came back to their homes during […]
8/17/02 Auckland, New Zealand – Is mold the new asbestos? A leading British insurance broker has warned that toxic mould has led to a growing number of claims in the United States and the problem is beginning to become apparent in Britain. A Weekend Herald investigation in April revealed that New Zealand’s growing leaky building […]
by Janet Elliott, Houston Chronicle Austin BureauSept. 23, 2002, 10:22PM AUSTIN — Black mold may have spawned an insurance crisis, but a study by Texas doctors has found no link between mold and toxic disease. "There’s no medical evidence right now that people should be concerned or in a panic because there’s mold in their […]
Rocklin, CA – Morgan FeDora wheezes noticeably when she talks and at times finds it difficult to breathe due to major upper respiratory problems, among other ailments. She also suffers from lethargy, severe headaches, somewhat akin to migraines, a nagging, raspy cough, sinus infections and a rash. All of which can be linked to the […]
by Catrine Johansson, The Orange County Register A mother says she and her 3 sons were sickened by fungus inside the walls of a Fullerton apartment complex A mother and her three children who claimed that their mold-infested apartment made them sick have won a $900,000 settlement, the latest in a wave of big-money payouts […]
by Thom Marshall, Houston Chronicle How can anyone in Houston, Texas, the AC capital of the entire world, be on the verge of losing his home for following a doctor’s advice to put a little unit in the bedroom window? About four years ago, Mohammad Hashmi’s doctor told him he needs a window-unit air conditioner […]
by Julia Lyon, The Bulletin During lunch on Oct. 25, teachers on the south side of the Early Childhood Education Center complained of a strong, unidentifiable smell. Later office workers all over the reservation began to complain about feeling sick. Tribal officials hired environmental consultants. They monitored air quality in virtually every public building. What consultants found […]
Anyone can be a contractor in an unregulated industry. Bill Thomas bought a $265,000 lemon. The Cherokee County house was supposed to be his dream home: five bedrooms and a full basement on a cul-de-sac lot backing up to a shady stand of trees. Ornate moldings, built-in bookshelves and columns grace the interior. The subdivision, […]
Homeowners, builders and insurance companies increasingly are wrestling in court. Carmel, IN – The kitchen calendar reads January 2003. The clock on the stove perpetually flashes 12:00. The day Mary McKinstray fled her $250,000 Carmel home and her possessions is frozen in time. “My doctor said, ‘If you value your life, never go in that house again,’ […]
By Eloise Aguiar – Writer, Advertiser Windward O’ahuPosted on: Thursday, August 8, 2002 HAU’ULA – Half of the shelves in the Hau’ula Elementary School library sit empty after mold destroyed about $60,000 worth of books and forced the closure of the facility all of last school year because of potential health risks. But finally the […]
When Beverly Hammond discovered black and green mold growing in her hall closet last fall, she wanted her family to evacuate the house immediately. She suspected the gooey fungus was causing her husband’s frequent nosebleeds and her 16-year-old daughter’s sudden memory loss. Toxic mold can cause such symptoms, she knew, but she had no idea […]
Toxic mold will soon be a household phrase. Insurance companies are under siege with claims from homeowners who say this mold is making them sick, and it could cost billions to clean it up. Recently a jury awarded a Texas family $32 million when they claimed mold in their home caused them to have neurological […]
By Jules Crittenden : The Herald Sunday, December 14, 2003 It sounds like a horror movie: Black mold that grows out of control on the walls, out of the light switches, sickening everyone in the house and even killing. For several Massachusetts families and possibly hundreds across the country, the nightmare is a reality that […]
by Beverly J. Lydick, Tribune Staff When Nikki Swanson moved into the yellow house on Nickerson Road, she planned to stay forever. After all, the two-story frame house, built in the 1860s, had been in her mother’s family for three generations and Swanson looked forward to raising her own family in the very same rooms. […]
by Henry Brean, Pahrump Valley TimesAugust 24, 2002 But levels at Gabbs, Round Mountain low compared to other areas BEATTY – Toxic mold spores like the ones that shut down Pahrump Valley High have been discovered at three more Nye County schools, but apparently not in significant enough quantities to warrant more closures. The toxic […]
Mold Endangers Children’s Health; A Mother’s Dream When Michelle Harless finally scraped up the money for her first house, she thought she was prepared for the rigors of home ownership. But within months, her Glendale dream home became her worst nightmare, the stuff of that nightmare: mold fed by a leaky pipe. Four months after […]
$1.5 Million Project To Be Completed Within 20 Months POSTED: 6:02 p.m. EST December 16, 2002 CLEVELAND — Officials said that mold has been attacking the county’s shelter for homeless women and children, creating a dangerous environment. NewsChannel5’s Joe Pagonakis reported that the city of Cleveland teamed up with Cuyahoga County on Monday to announce […]
by Candice Williams, The Express-TimesWednesday, August 07, 2002 FOUNTAIN HILL — Claims of unsanitary living conditions in a senior citizen high-rise and a possible illegal boarding house topped residents concerns at the regular council meeting Monday. Four residents of the Clarence Aungst Towers at 1101 Seneca St. appeared before council to plead for help in […]
by Andrew Laxon13.09.2002 Developers and builders have made plans to evacuate more than 100 residents of a leaking housing development which they fear may be contaminated with toxic mould. Herald investigations have established that the 65-unit Silverfield Terraces site in St Lukes is leaking badly and a consultant’s report shows moisture readings of up to […]
Alberta, Canada – Kathie and Dale Derman with three of their children and nephew Anthony, can no longer live in their Stoney Plain house due to the severe health problems they endured due to black mold in their house. Today, Kathie and Dale Derman are hoping to get permission to destroy their house, contents and all, including a […]
by Michelle Conlin Everything was running perfectly that spring afternoon at the courtyard-style Best Western Springdale in the suburbs of Cincinnati. Room service was humming along at a reliable clip. The floral-patterned comforters were getting fluffed. Kids were splashing in the pool. Then, suddenly, General Manager Jim Crane got an emergency call about a leak […]
12/23/03 Pottstown, PA – Rain and humidity proved to be a dangerous combination last summer when many local schools were overrun by mold, causing inconvenience for parents, teachers and students. Many students had an untraditional start to the school year when officials in the Boyertown, Daniel Boone, Pottstown, Pottsgrove and Upper Perkiomen school districts announced their […]
4/12/03 Los Angeles, CA – Former “Tonight Show” sidekick Ed McMahon settled a lawsuit against the last of several defendants he sued for toxic mold that allegedly sickened him and his wife, killed his pet and made his Beverly Hills mansion unlivable. McMahon, 80, agreed to accept $230,000 to resolve the dispute, court documents revealed […]
7/12/03 New Orleans, LA – Louisiana has a mold problem, but not all remediation contractors are part of the solution, and the state doesn’t want to admit it. Mold ran Russell and Pamela Vicknair out of their house. In 2002, a sewer pipe under their Baker home burst. State Farm, their insurer, sent out inspectors […]
Eugene, OR – On Saturday afternoon, what was supposed to be the dream house of the O’Hara family will be burned to the ground. Mark and Mary Jane O’Hara believe that the home, off Spencer Creek Road south of Eugene, Oregon, has become contaminated with toxic mold that made them and their two children sick. […]
The Corvallis Rental Property Management Group took on that bane of Pacific Northwest living — mold — at its monthly meeting Tuesday at the Elks Lodge. On hand were Dawn Duerksen and Steve Duerksen of Duerksen and Associates, Noah Chamberlain and Sarah Saul of Access the Law and Tracy Oulman, housing and neighborhoods coordinator for […]
Written by Whitney Downard, The Meridian Star A year-old report on the air quality of the Lauderdale County Courthouse hasn’t had an impact on the employees who work in the building, nor have any public warnings been issued. The Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors paid $10,700 in taxpayer money to study the conditions inside the […]
SUBJECT: Toxic Mold in Texas TO: All Freddie Mac Sellers and Servicers Due to recent actions taken by the insurance industry in Texas, toxic mold has become a major focus of the mortgage industry. These actions do not affect Freddie Mac’s requirements for property insurance coverage on 1- to 4-unit properties, found in Section 58.2 […]
8/16/02 Guest Commentary by Tamara Warren; Eureka, CA Madera, CA – Madera County will clean and remove mold in the government center, rather than spend $10,000 to study the problem. County Administrator Stell Manfredi said Wednesday that workers will concentrate on a women’s restroom in the east wing of the 91-year-old structure. Supervisors also want to […]
Military family advocates are questioning whether officials are tracking and treating the health issues that are linked to their military housing rife with mold, rodent infestation, lead paint, and other issues. The issues with these problems in military housing started with families’ concerns about health, noted Karen Ruedisueli, deputy government relations director for the National Military Family Association. “It […]
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A Winston-Salem city council member is offering assistance to property owners for them to provide a permanent solution to what some tenants say is recurring mold at their apartment complex. Meanwhile, owners and managers at La Deara Crest Apartments say they’ve fixed these issues and there is no problem with mold whatsoever at […]
NIOSH has developed new tools to help employers identify and assess areas of dampness and mold in general buildings and in schools. The agency’s new Dampness and Mold Assessment Tool, which guides users through assessing all rooms in a building, provides a checklist and instructions for assessing and recording any damage related to dampness or […]
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