Couple wins suit over moldy home Michigan

[Guest guest]

____________________________________

This is a printer friendly version of an article from The Detroit News

To print this article open the file menu and choose Print.

____________________________________

June 29, 2006

Couple wins suit over moldy home

Mike dale / The Detroit News

LYON TOWNSHIP -- A Lyon Township couple whose dream home turned into a toxic

nightmare won a $770,000 jury verdict against the builder Wednesday in

Oakland Circuit Court.

Cheryl and Barry Mills had to move out of a newly built 2,300-square-foot,

three-bedroom home and into an apartment in August 2004 because of health

concerns about mold found on building joists. The couple alleged the home, which

has sat vacant for nearly two years, was built with moldy wood products and a

jury apparently agreed, eventually awarding a verdict against the Centennial

Ridge company that built it, the Mills' attorney J. Remski said

Wednesday.

" We had an expert examine the house, and the joists were so moldy they were

actually weakened in spots, " Remski said.

The Millses paid $379,000 for the house originally and the mold problem was

discovered in April 2003. They had to leave many of their possessions inside

while it was being examined and move into an apartment. The jury deliberated

for six hours before coming back with the award, based upon the Mills'

concerns, relocation and disruption of their lives.

" We knew at the end of this (trial) we were going to be moving on with our

lives , " Cheryl Mills said. " This makes it a lot easier to do that. "

You can reach Mike dale at _mmartindale@..._

(mailto:mmartindale@...) or (248) 647-7226.