Arizona Legal Support

Mold is an ancient problem that has as of late made its way into the courtroom with increasing frequency. It is estimated that about 10,000 mold-related lawsuits were filed nationwide in the last three years. This was likely fueled, at least in part, by reports of the huge jury verdicts in several high-profile mold cases. In June 2001, a Texas jury awarded homeowner Melinda Ballard over $32 million in damages (reduced to $4 million) against her insurer for mishandling mold related claims. In June 1996, a Florida jury awarded Martin County, Florida over $14 million against its construction manager and sureties for the defective construction of the county’s courthouse and office building that lead to mold contamination. While significant, these awards did not involve personal injury claims.

While over half of mold litigation involves single-family homes, mold is increasingly being found in multi-family complexes, high-rise buildings, school and office buildings, hotels, and other commercial structures. North Carolina has not escaped unscathed. Cases have been filed in North Carolina’s superior courts arising from the mold contamination in single-family homes, manufactured homes, public schools, hotels, and a number of other structures.

Some places throughout the country experience higher rates of mold than us. We talked to a New Jersey Mold Inspector the other day and couldn’t believe how the mold problem continues to grow, pun intended. There is a surprising lack of online resources around the mold industry though this looks to be changing as many mold blogs and forums are popping up.