Family gets $2M in toxic mold verdict

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October 25, 2006

Family gets $2M in toxic Mold VerdictBy Goodman

_jgoodman@..._ (mailto:jgoodman@...)

FAST FACT

The verdict, for $2.24 million, was returned Thursday in Hinds County

Circuit Court.

The defense has 30 days to appeal.

Dr. Lipsey Testified in the Case as the Mold Expert

A Ridgeland family whose home was destroyed by toxic mold has been awarded

more than $2 million by a Hinds County jury to cover medical expenses and the

cost of rebuilding, the family's attorney said.

The home, near the Ross Barnett Reservoir in the Overlook Pointe

subdivision, was attacked by several different kinds of mold, including

stachybotrus,

aspergillium and penicillium.

The family - primarily the mother and one of the couple's three sons -

suffered from bloody noses, chronic fatigue, chronic diarrhea and migraines.

" It was a huge lesson on the problems with toxic mold, " said Mitch Tyner of

, one of the family's attorneys. " I had no idea how dangerous toxic

mold in a home could be. "

The couple, and Donna Mathews, did not return a request for comment

..

The family sued their builder, A. on, who built five homes on

five lots in the subdivision. They also sued her companies, Classic Design

Homes Inc., Supreme Design Homes Inc. and Service Air Heating and Air

Conditioning Inc.

Nobles of , one of on's attorneys, would not comment on

the case.

Another attorney, Abdo of , did not return calls.

An Oct. 4 motion to dismiss from the defendants - alleging discovery

violations by the plaintiffs - said the defense was not given full access to

the

plaintiffs' medical records.

The motion said the wife, Donna Mathews, went to see land doctor Ritchie

Shoemaker " reporting symptoms which he attributes to mold exposure. "

" Shoemaker also claims in his report that he cured Donna Mathews of these

symptoms in only 30 days by giving her a pill that lowers cholesterol. In fact,

Shoemaker points to this 'cure' as proof that his diagnosis must have been

correct.

" Yet, the very week before the last trial of this case in March of 2006,

Donna Mathews was seeing a local physician claiming the same symptoms, " the

motion said.

The motion then says that local doctor's records state Donna Mathews

" denied " any prior medical problems and made no reference to mold. " Clearly,

Donna

Mathews suffered from those symptoms for reasons having nothing to do with

mold. Clearly, Shoemaker did not 'cure' Donna Mathews with his

cholesterol-lowering pill. "

The Mathews family lived in the home from March 1996 until October 2003,

until " construction defects and mold infestation required them to vacate the

premises, " their complaint said.

The family did not know the cause of their problems until 2003. Donna

Mathews, a registered nurse, didn't initially know why she was so tired,

sleeping

sometimes for the whole weekend, Tyner said.

After on made repairs to the home, the family began to notice cracks,

doors that would not open properly and other structural problems, the

complaint said. They learned that defects in the construction of the home were

the

culprit.

Those defects, mostly in the design and construction of the foundation, led

to moisture penetration in the home that allowed mold to grow.

The family, whose boys are now 15, 18 and 21, has been treated and does not

appear to be suffering any long-term damage, but they are more sensitive to

mold, Tyner said.

The family now lives in another home in Ridgeland.

The developer of the subdivision also was sued for failing to disclose an

abandoned sewer when selling the lot to the builder, Tyner said. But the jury

found in favor of the developer, Overlook Pointe Partnership.

Dr. L. Lipsey ( 904 )398-2168

550 Water St, #1230, ville, FL 32202

Toxicologist and former Prof. Univ. Florida,

Adj Prof, Univ. N. FL, OSHA HazMat certification,

Fla. Comm. College Jax, Institute of Occ. Safety & Health, Chairman,

Clinical Tox Advisory Comm, Florida Poison Info Center, Jax.

_www.richardlipsey.com_ (http://www.richardlipsey.com/)