January 6, 2003
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Mold Stories
-- The mold scare: Reaction vs. reality - How a natural substance suddenly
became life or death scourge (Inman.com/Mortgage, January 3, 2003)
-- Mold is 'new asbestos'; health risks debated - Angry homeowners say the
fungus makes them ill and makes their homes uninhabitable (Salem Statesman
Journal, OR, January 2, 2003)
-- Health Concerns Breed Suits Over Mold (Hartford Courant, CT, December 31,
2002)
-- Mold issues continue to spread (Munster Times, IN, December 29, 2002)
-- Basics of homeowners insurance coverage (Houston Chronicle, TX, December 29,
2002)
-- New laws help builders, tenants; Contractors get right to repair; landlords
must wait 60 days to evict (San Francisco Chronicle, CA, December 29, 2002)
-- Mealey's Mold Litigation Conference - February 3 and 4, 2003, La Jolla,
California
-- Mealey's Mold Seminar Speaker Steve Henning
-- Fungal Detectives Uncover the Truth About Green Mold (Agricultural Research,
MD, January 2, 2003)
-- The Law Offices of Cynthia Coulter Mulvihill, APC
Happy New Year! Who made resolutions? I did.
Mine is to vehemently protest the use of "a fungus among us" in the titles of
mold articles.
The mold scare: Reaction vs. reality - How a natural substance suddenly
became life or death scourge (Inman.com/Mortgage, January 3, 2003)
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Do you think the mold issue has been exaggerated? I do. Mold has been on the
earth for millions of years. How is it that all of a sudden, last year, mold
became so toxic that people are now tearing down their homes, ripping out
sheetrock, pulling out their hair, and spending untold millions annually on mold
inspections and repairs. What is the source of this crazy new scare? Could you
offer a more logical, even-handed response to this overblown issue?
Your questions have been voiced by many and certainly warrant consideration.
One does wonder how a naturally occurring, ubiquitous substance suddenly became
a life and death scourge. So let's take a look at this latest indoor air quality
concern.
Click here for: The mold scare: Reaction vs. reality - How a natural substance
suddenly became life or death scourge (Inman.com/Mortgage, January 3, 2003)
Mold is 'new asbestos'; health risks debated - Angry homeowners say the
fungus makes them ill and makes their homes uninhabitable (Salem Statesman
Journal, OR, January 2, 2003)
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When Susan Lillard-Roberts bought her vintage 1912 house in McMinnville five
years ago, she thought her life was on the mend. She had left a broken marriage
in Nevada, and the move to small-town Oregon with her two children seemed just
what the doctor ordered. She was wrong.
After moving in to the 2,500-square-foot house in 1998, she gradually
developed symptoms neither she nor her doctor could explain: breathing
difficulties, nosebleeds, diarrhea and mental fogginess.
Click here for: Mold is 'new asbestos'; health risks debated - Angry homeowners
say the fungus makes them ill and makes their homes uninhabitable (Salem
Statesman Journal, OR, January 2, 2003)
Health Concerns Breed Suits Over Mold (Hartford Courant, CT, December 31,
2002)
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ENFIELD -- Stephen Champagne says the mold in his rented Elm Street home has
sent him to the hospital twice and is responsible for the headaches, fatigue,
memory loss and respiratory ailments he has suffered since he moved in a year
and a half ago.
His son, who lives with his mother, is no longer allowed to go inside the
house, he said, because 4-year-old Stefan's neck balloons to the size of a
football and his nose bleeds.
Click here for: Health Concerns Breed Suits Over Mold (Hartford Courant, CT,
December 31, 2002)
Mold issues continue to spread (Munster Times, IN, December 29, 2002)
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Homes have been razed and schools emptied in recent years, as Indiana residents
and families nationwide increasingly attribute ill health and property damage to
the phenomenon of mold.
Although mold in itself is nothing new, its contamination has become a
financial and legal nightmare for property owners and insurance agents.
Mold issues continue to spread (Munster Times, IN, December 29, 2002)
Basics of homeowners insurance coverage (Houston Chronicle, TX, December
29, 2002)
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Do you ever look at your homeowners' insurance policy?
If you were familiar with it, you might save yourself time and angst when you
need to make a claim.
Click here for: Basics of homeowners insurance coverage (Houston Chronicle, TX,
December 29, 2002)
New laws help builders, tenants; Contractors get right to repair;
landlords must wait 60 days to evict (San Francisco Chronicle, CA, December 29,
2002)
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If you were to purchase a home in Pulte Homes' Birchwood Park subdivision in
Livermore on Monday, you'd walk away from the sales office with reams of
contracts, warranties and disclosures.
If you waited 24 hours (or until Thursday, as is more likely), you could be
loaded down by an extra 300 sheaves, thanks to a new law that takes effect on
Wednesday.
Click here for: New laws help builders, tenants; Contractors get right to
repair; landlords must wait 60 days to evict (San Francisco Chronicle, CA,
December 29, 2002)
Mealey's Mold Litigation Conference - February 3 and 4, 2003, La Jolla,
California
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Among other topics: Mold Research: Expectations from ongoing microbial research
(domestic and international). Experts from the United States and Finland will
discuss the status of the various studies ongoing, preliminary results together
with whether these studies will meet peer review and other criteria for
admissibility.
Hot coverage issues: Critical cases and laws which will impact the insurer
and policyholder.
Click here for Mealeys Mold Conference
Mealey's Mold Seminar Speaker Steve Henning
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Okay, a little commercial for Steve Henning here . . . he's a great speaker, and
this man knows his mold.
Click here for Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman
Fungal Detectives Uncover the Truth About Green Mold (Agricultural Research,
MD, January 2, 2003)
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Pennsylvania farmers grow more mushrooms than farmers in any other state,
according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. But in the mid- 1990s,
farmers in Chester County--the state's mushroom-growing capital--came under
siege, experiencing crop losses of 30 to 100 percent due to a green mold
epidemic.
Initially, scientists identified the green mold culprit as Trichoderma
harzianum, a common fungal species that has commercial applications. Recently,
however, scientists at the Agricultural Research Service's Systematic Botany and
Mycology Laboratory (SBML) in Beltsville, Md., gave this emerald invader its
true name: Trichoderma aggressivum
Click here for: Fungal Detectives Uncover the Truth About Green Mold
(Agricultural Research, MD, January 2, 2003)
Hyde Mulvihill APC
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Los Angeles Office: (626) 358-7471 Fax: (626) 358-2894
