January 27, 2003
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Mold Stories
-- Managing Mold, and [10,000] Lawsuits (New York Times, January 25, 2003)
-- Mold's the word - Insurers blame fat jury awards for explosion of related
claims (Inman.com, January 23, 2003)
-- Former Dot Com Millionaire Enters Into Toxic Mold Fight! (Yahoo! Finance,
January 23, 2003)
-- Policy on mold clarified - State Farm agrees to modify, resend fliers (Baton
Rouge Advocate, LA, January 21, 2003)
-- Alliance Opposes Texas Mold Remediation Bill (Insurance Journal, January 23,
2003)
-- Mold scam reported (Austin Business Journal, TX, January 23, 2003)
-- School Mold - Brandenton, FL: Parents say mold making students sick. They say
their children attending King Middle School have developed a variety of ailments
(Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL, January 24, 2003)
-- School Mold - Seymour, CT: Some parents of Bungay School children said this
week they suspect mold is making their kids sick. (New Haven Register, CT,
January 24, 2003)
-- School Mold - Westborough, MA: Mold issue stirs controversy: School Committee
wants answers (Framingham Metro West Daily News, MA, January 23, 2003)
-- School Mold - Lawton, OK: Mold in Lawton school forces classroom closure
(Daily Oklahoman, OK, January 22, 2003)
-- Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
-- The Law Offices of Cynthia Coulter Mulvihill, APC
Dear Cynthia,
So many schools are having problems mold, I'm adding a section called "School
Mold". It will be after the usual round up of stories about mold in the media,
but before links to mold training and the usual fun story.
In case you are wondering why that is important, the first mold case I was
involved with was almost seven years ago, and involved a public school gymnasium
in Southern California. I think mold cases involving schools (more than any
other type of public building) are an indicator that future litigation involving
residences is likely.
Managing Mold, and [10,000] Lawsuits (New York Times, January 25, 2003)
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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 easier for mold to get a foothold -
some New York lawyers say that multimillion dollar jury awards in some of those
cases seem to be inspiring an increasing number of mold-related claims here. As
a result, property managers and lawyers who represent co-ops, condominiums and
owners of rental buildings are doing everything they can to ensure that the
buildings they represent will not wind up in a mold- related lawsuit.
Click here for: Managing Mold, and [10,000] Lawsuits (New York Times, January
25, 2003)
Mold's the word - Insurers blame fat jury awards for explosion of related
claims (Inman.com, January 23, 2003)
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Mold-related homeowner's insurance claims nationwide topped $1 billion in 2001
compared with a mere $100 million the prior year, according to the Insurance
Information Network of California.
Insurers blame massive jury-awarded mold settlements for fueling the rise in
mold claims and most have now written mold out of homeowner's coverage
altogether. Yet many insurers still refuse to write homeowner's insurance
policies for homes that have a history of water damage within the last five
years.
Click here for: Mold's the word - Insurers blame fat jury awards for explosion
of related claims (Inman.com, January 23, 2003)
Former Dot Com Millionaire Enters Into Toxic Mold Fight! (Yahoo! Finance,
January 23, 2003)
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SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Tom Blakeley, founder and former
CEO of Orange County based MindArrow Systems Inc. now Avalon Digital Marketing
Systems, a Nasdaq company, has entered a new start-up company into the
tumultuous world of "Toxic Mold."
ADVERTISEMENT "I lost a 7 figure real estate sale because of mold. I felt so
frustrated and helpless when a mold test came back positive, and my prospective
buyer immediately terminated escrow," said Tom Blakeley, President and CEO of
the newly formed American MoldGuard Inc. "I had paid cash for that house and I
was the one that was going to take the financial hit, not the bank," Blakeley
said.
Click here for: Former Dot Com Millionaire Enters Into Toxic Mold Fight! (Yahoo!
Finance, January 23, 2003)
Policy on mold clarified - State Farm agrees to modify, resend fliers
(Baton Rouge Advocate, LA, January 21, 2003)
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State Farm agreed Tuesday to clear up any confusion about mold and fungus
claims.
The state's largest issuer of homeowners insurance said it will mail new
notices to its Louisiana policyholders, specifying how and when mold and fungus
damage is covered.
Click here for: Policy on mold clarified - State Farm agrees to modify, resend
fliers (Baton Rouge Advocate, LA, January 21, 2003)
Alliance Opposes Texas Mold Remediation Bill (Insurance Journal, January
23, 2003)
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The Alliance of American Insurers announced its opposition to HB 329, a bill
introduced into the Texas House of Representatives that would create the Mold
Assessors and Remediators Act. The act would establish regulations for mold
remediation and provide educational and licensing requirements for individuals
engaged in mold remediation.
"While supporters of this legislation argue that licensing remediators will
minimize fraud and incompetent work by remediators, the Alliance opposes
licensing on the grounds that licensing criteria are limited by deficiencies in
the science which inhibits a clear understanding of remediation," said Kirk
Hansen, Alliance director of claims.
Click here for: Alliance Opposes Texas Mold Remediation Bill (Insurance Journal,
January 23, 2003
Mold scam reported (Austin Business Journal, TX, January 23, 2003)
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Austin police detectives are investigating a series of reported mold repair
scams targeting older victims.
The suspect approaches victims and tells them they either have mold in their
houses or need to have repairs done to their homes, police say. The victims have
been white women ages 60 to 73.
Click here for: Mold scam reported (Austin Business Journal, TX, January 23,
2003)
School Mold - Brandenton, FL: Parents say mold making students sick. They
say their children attending King Middle School have developed a variety of
ailments (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL, January 24, 2003)
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BRADENTON -- District officials who came to King Middle School on Thursday to
discuss the status of a renovation project were instead confronted by parents
complaining that mold at the school is making students and staff sick.
"We're at the point where we feel like the only way to get things done is to
storm the School Board," said parent Cathy Mackey.
Click here for: School Mold - Brandenton, FL: Parents say mold making students
sick. They say their children attending King Middle School have developed a
variety of ailments (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL, January 24, 2003)
School Mold - Seymour, CT: Some parents of Bungay School children said this
week they suspect mold is making their kids sick. (New Haven Register, CT,
January 24, 2003)
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School officials said air testing done by specialists in November showed that
fungus levels in the school didn't pose any significant health hazards.
Parent Mark Ignace, who has two children at Bungay, said he's concerned about
the number of sick children at the elementary school, particularly those in
first and second grade.
School Mold - Westborough, MA: Mold issue stirs controversy: School Committee
wants answers (Framingham Metro West Daily News, MA, January 23, 2003)
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WESTBOROUGH -- The School Committee will hold a special meeting next Monday to
discuss Vice Chairman Bruce Tretter's allegations that the administration
dragged its feet in dealing with complaints about air quality at the new Mill
Pond School.
Tretter's allegations stem from the administration's actions after mold was
discovered on the ceiling of two classrooms in December. In an e-mail, Tretter
accused Superintendent Stephen Dlott of being "negligent" for not quickly
notifying parents or the School Committee about the discovery.
Click here for: School Mold - Westborough, MA: Mold issue stirs controversy:
School Committee wants answers (Framingham Metro West Daily News, MA, January
23, 2003)
School Mold - Lawton, OK: Mold in Lawton school forces classroom closure
(Daily Oklahoman, OK, January 22, 2003)
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LAWTON -- Several classrooms at Eisenhower Junior High School deteriorated badly
in the two years since an air quality test for mold was taken, according to test
reports.
Only one classroom out of 21 rooms and areas tested in February 2001 was
considered severely contaminated because of mold. One other was deemed
moderately contaminated by Occupational Safety and Health Consultants of Bixby.
Click here for: School Mold - Lawton, OK: Mold in Lawton school forces classroom
closure (Daily Oklahoman, OK, January 22, 2003)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I haven't seent this one yet, but I've heard several hysterical interviews with
Chuck Barris, the creator of The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game and the Gong
Show, who wrote the fictionalized autobiography.
Also, one of my three sisters (I'll never tell which!) had a secret longing
to be on The Gong Show.
Click here for: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
The Law Offices of Cynthia Coulter Mulvihill, APC
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Los Angeles Office: (626) 358-7471 Fax: (626) 358-2894
