In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, toxic mold claims are predicted to be the tort of the decade with multimillion dollar claims throughout the country fueled by devastating property losses and media frenzy. Defensible or not, this height of media attention has created a landslide of insurance claims and lawsuits that are spreading like fungus itself. Even Hollywood’s Ed McMahon, sports great Michael Jordan, and toxic tort crusader Erin Brockovich have found themselves in the center of personal mold battles in the courtroom. If you believe much of what you read, it’s simple: exposure to mold contamination equals asthma, bleeding lungs, chronic fatigue, or perhaps even death. Indeed, the most notorious case in the toxic mold realm—Ballard v. Fire Ins. Exch.—handed down by Texas district court in 2001, although later reduced, awarded homeowners a $32 million dollar verdict in compensatory and punitive damages against Farmers Insurance Group for its failure to deal adequately with toxic mold infestation. Ballard v. Fire Ins. Exch., No. 99-05252, 2001 WL 883550 at *1 (Tex. Dist. Aug. 1, 2001) (unpublished opinion); see also Lisa Belkin, Haunted by Mold, N.Y. Times (Aug. 12, 2001). Disturbingly, this watershed verdict surfaced even without admitting into evidence any expert testimony linking Ballard’s family’s alleged injuries to toxic mold. Click here to read the full article.

This article is reprinted with permission from DRI - It oringinally appeared in the February 2007 Edition of the DRI Defense Library Series