Strikes Again !

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Article Last Updated: 2/03/2006 10:21 AM

Mold house survivors to get their day in court on April 5

http://nashobapublishing.com/pepperelllocal/ci_3472491

By Don sson

Nashoba Publishing

PEPPERELL -- Nearly three years to the day one couple purchased a

duplex at 20A and B ee Rd. only to lose it, their health and

all their possessions, they said, to toxic mold. Now, and Rick

will have their day in court on April 5.

Their lawsuit against the two Realtors involved in the sale of the

allegedly mold-infested duplex and the realty firms they work for

will go before a 10- to 14-person Lowell Superior Court jury on that

date, said .

The couple appeared in the Lowell court this week, as did an

attorney for former owners and Anne Burke, of Merrimack,

N.H., to set the trial date.

Pre-trial motions will be made on April 3, said the ' attorney,

Doyle. A verdict will be decided by a majority of the jury.

The ' story has been documented by print and televised media

coverage. became ill with multiple types of asthma from,

she said, 32 types of mold that pervaded her home.

Spores permeated everything they owned, she said, including

vehicles, causing doctors to order the couple to destroy everything.

Photographs of them wearing HAZMAT suits while throwing their

possessions into a trash bin on their front lawn, and stories of the

' plight have generated hundreds of weekly e-mail's from mold

sufferers throughout the country. has become somewhat of a

vigilante in a quest for a solution.

The family is bankrupt, she said. She has no job and the effects of

the fight are beginning to show in her husband's health, she said.

" It's been a rough road, " said . " I want this thing done.

" I know there's a mission and there's a purpose, but do we have to

go to the edge of the cliff? I guess so, " she said.

When word of their plight first made news, residents of Pepperell

gathered to raise money to relocate the newcomers. She still gets

support from new-found friends, said.

She brought the problem to the Board of Health (BOH) in an attempt

to have the house condemned so no one else could suffer from it. She

had delayed that approach because of the pending suit, she said, but

the board was powerless because no longer owned it.

The mortgagor, Washington Mutual Bank, eventually excused the

mortgage and associated nonpayment penalties and the house was

resold.

' spirits were high following this week's court appearance.

" I've gone to see my old house. There's a large Dumpster in the

driveway, " she said. " My last conversation with the building

inspector's office proved there is no building permit for it as of

the first of January.

" I've been slipping, " she said, " I usually call them every week. I

guess I'm somewhat of a boil.

" My son (Cameron) is doing fine. He's gained two pounds (he suffers

from failure to thrive as well as autism), " she added. " Oh yes, I'm

pleased this trial is coming. I'm ready. "

Work prognosis isn't good, however, because cannot be re-

exposed to mold. The asthma will be with her for the rest of her

life, she said.

In addition, she said, the family's food stamps were just canceled.

" Apparently the feds are running the program, " said. " There is

a national data bank they put the information into and credit you

for the national average. I asked how come under the rental category

they allow only $500. We're double that.

" You can't rent anything in Massachusetts for that little, but you

can in Kansas. So I guess we have to go to Kansas? " she asked

rhetorically.

" The mortgage remains excused, but the paperwork we signed with the

bank had a clause allowing them to come back, " she said. " We've got

credit card companies, the bank, MassHealth and house insurance who

could all come after us. If we win the case it could be a wash. "

The ' had hoped to sell their ee Road home as condexes.

They had a $234,000 mortgage three years ago. She found a recent

advertisement that asked almost $500,000 for a duplex like theirs.

" To get out of this mess my husband would have to triple his salary

without me working. We're now part of working poor instead of middle

class, " she said.

" I'm not going away though, " said. " This issue isn't going

away. Something has to be done. We need mandatory real estate

disclosures.

" We have nothing to lose. We've lost it all except for my integrity

and my big mouth, " she said.

" A lot of people across (the) country with similar problems have

told me they would like to get the media coverage I've had. I say

back, `How many people would like to throw away everything they

owned because they just wanted to buy a house?' I'm going to go

kicking and screaming, " she said.