Ed McMahon Sues Over
Toxic Mould
In L.A. Home
April 10, 2002 Posted: 5:12 PM EDT (2112 GMT)
on www.cnn.com
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- As Johnny Carson's
sidekick, entertainer Ed McMahon was famed for his infectious laugh. But
as a homeowner, he says he is involved in a drama that has left him
seething.
McMahon, 79, is suing his
home insurance company for $20 million, claiming it botched a simple
repair on a broken pipe and, as a result, allowed a toxic mould to spread
through his house, making his family sick and killing his dog.
In a lawsuit filed Monday
in Los Angeles Superior Court, McMahon, who for years served as Carson's
sidekick on NBC's "Tonight Show," said he, his wife Pamela, and
household staff members have been battling illnesses as a result of
exposure to a mould known as stachybotrus chartarum. He also said the
family dog, Muffin, died as a result of a mould-induced infection.
It names Scottsdale,
Arizona-based American Equity Insurance Co., a unit of Citigroup Inc., as
a plaintiff as well as several Southern California contractors who had
been hired to clean up the mould. A spokeswoman for American Equity
declined to comment Wednesday.
According to the suit, a
pipe burst last July in McMahon's estate in the posh Coldwater Canyon
section of Los Angeles, causing his den to be flooded. McMahon made a
claim under his policy with American Equity, which arranged to clean up
the damage caused by the flooding.
The lawsuit charges that
the contractors painted over visible mould and failed to provide the McMahons with environmental reports related to the levels of mould
infestation despite repeated requests for documentation.
Copyright
2002-2005 Reuters.
Up
Mould In Houses Causes New Headaches
Changes in
homeowners insurance will ensure one thing -- confusion.
By
Shonda Novak,
Austin
American-Statesman
Staff,
January
26, 2002
For consumers, the chore of shopping for homeowners insurance is going to
get more complicated.
Because
of changes in the most common Texas homeowners policy, prompted by soaring
claims for mould damage, consumers likely will have to shop around more for
the best price and coverage. And they're likely to pay more for less
coverage. Although insurance industry officials say the changes will
foster competition and increase options for homeowners, consumer advocates
disagree.
"Anyone
who wants to be a good consumer and shop around, it's going to be almost
impossible to compare apples and apples," said Dan Lambe, executive
director of Texas Watch, a consumer research and advocacy group.
"Everybody's going to have a different policy, a little different
rate."
Allstate
spokesman Justin Schmitt agreed that consumers are going to have to become
savvier. "But that's not necessarily a bad thing because they'll have
options. Agents can help them make choices."
One
of the first challenges is understanding the different types of policies
offered and how they have changed.
Some
insurance companies are discontinuing the most popular policy, the HO-B.
Until now, 96 percent of Texas homeowners have bought a comprehensive HO-B
policy, which covers most kinds of calamities, from lightning and hail to
theft and explosions. It also covered water and mould-related damage,
including expensive testing and decontamination procedures.
But
as the number and cost of mould damage claims soared last year, some
insurers began to restrict or end sales of new HO-B policies and raise
premiums steeply on renewals.Some
offered only the cheaper and less comprehensive HO-A policy, which covers
water and mould damage only when caused by wind or hail.
The
companies said soaring costs gave them no alternative. Farmers Insurance
Exchange, the state's second-largest home insurer, said it expected to
lose $300 million last year on claims for water and mould damage claims.
Insurers
also complained that Texas required them to offer more extensive
water-damage coverage than any other state. The state mandates the types
of coverage, but amounts are up to homeowners.
In
November, Insurance Commissioner José Montemayor, seeking to avoid a
crisis in insurance affordability and availability, approved changes in
coverage mandates and opened the door to companies offering variations on
standard policies.
Now,
HO-B policies cover only the immediate damage caused by a sudden or
accidental water leak or discharge. Plus,
homeowners must report such leaks to their insurance company within 30
days after they discover them, or should have discovered them. Homeowners
who are not vigilant about maintenance may have their claims denied.
Under
the new rules, homeowners can buy additional mould damage coverage in
varying amounts, up to the coverage limit of their policies.
Separately,
some insurance companies are introducing, with Insurance Department
approval, beefed-up versions of their bare-bones HO-A policies at
additional cost.
Farmers'
enhanced HO-A policy, for example, includes limited coverage for water
damage not covered under its basic HO-A policy.
Allstate
Corp. will offer an expanded HO-A Plus policy that caps coverage for mould
removal at $5,000 to new customers, effective Monday. Starting in March,
Allstate will offer the Plus policy to homeowners who renew. It will no
longer offer its HO-B policy.
Prices
vary by customer, but Allstate anticipates its expanded HO-A policy will
cost an average of 20 percent less than its existing HO-B policy and about
16 percent more than its basic HO-A. State Farm Insurance Co., the largest
insurer, plans to seek approval for three policy variations next month.
The
growing number of options complicates the task of shopping for insurance. For
starters, Montemayor cautions people not to cancel their current policies
until they have another one in hand. They also should be aware that
insurance companies may cancel newly issued policies in the first 90 days
for virtually any reason, except illegal discrimination. If a consumer
cancels a policy to buy another one, the previous insurer must refund the
unused portion of the premium.
"A
homeowner doesn't want any gap in coverage, and with insurers looking
carefully at a homeowner's past claims, some companies are reluctant to
add new policyholders who have had any water problems," Montemayor
said.
Even
with the new limits in HO-B policies, "B is still what you should be
looking for if you can afford it," said Rod Bordelon of the state
Office of Public Insurance Counsel. The public counsel, an arm of the
Insurance Department, represents consumers interests.
Beyond
that, consumers will have to read the fine print to discern the
differences in policies.
"With
the old system, you knew what you were getting," said Lambe of Texas
Watch. "Now, with the endorsements, the opt-outs, the opt-ins, you
can't just go on price anymore," he said. "And unfortunately,
the lowest-priced coverage, more often than not, is going to be the
coverage that has the most holes in it, leaving homeowners more
vulnerable."
Sitting
down with your agent periodically is a good idea anyway -- especially now,
said Rick Gentry, executive director of the Insurance Council of Texas, a
trade group.
He
said information is available to help homeowners sort out the changes
through their agents, the Insurance Department and other sources.
"Consumers
are smart," Gentry said. "They know how to shop and evaluate.
Why do you think they drive across town and go to Sam's Club? Because they
know they can get a bargain."
Up
TEXAS Insurance
Help
*
www.tdi.state.tx.us is the Texas Department of Insurance home page. Links
related to homeowners insurance include:
* www.tdi.state.tx.us//consumer/consum31.html
* www.tdi.state.tx.us/apps/perlroot/u--cp--homerate/rghome.html
* For general insurance questions, consumers may call the department's
consumer line at
463-6515 in Austin or
(800) 252-3439.
* Help also is available from the Office of Public Insurance Counsel,
322-4138.
* To file an insurance-related complaint visit online:
www.tdi.state.tx.us/consumer/complfrm.html,
or email
ConsumerProtection@tdi.state.tx.us
Fax:
475-1771or
mail to Texas
Department of Insurance Consumer Protection (111-1A) P.O. Box 149091
Austin, TX 78714-9091.
Mould
& Health in the Los Angeles Times
On
Dec. 16, 2001, the following excerpt was published as part of
Los Angeles Times reporter Diane Wedner's article "mould."
"By the time
Geneva Nunnally discovered the bulge in her bathroom wall in June, she had
been experiencing headaches, frequent nose bleeds and a sore throat off
and on for about a year. It didn't occur to the interior designer that the
doughy bathroom wall and her persistent flu-like symptoms were connected
until inspectors discovered a thick layer of black mould growing between
the exterior wall and the plaster of the bathroom wall.
"When we
removed the wallpaper, the stench was so bad they had to wear masks," Nunnally said. "The environmental consulting company said it was the
worst case of black mould they'd ever collected."
"After the
moulds were identified as aspergillus, penicillium and stachybotrys chartarum--the so-called toxic moulds that have made headlines--Nunnally
vacated her custom home in Westlake Village and took up residence with a
friend in Malibu."
Up
PINE RIDGE (AP) -
The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council is trying to figure out how to deal with a
growing infestation of mould across the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Tribal leaders drafted a resolution this week calling it an emergency
situation. They are asking the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention for help. The tribe first wants to
determine what kind of mould it's dealing with to see whether it's toxic,
according to Oglala Sioux Housing Director Richard Shangreaux. Shangreaux
said he is most concerned about Stachybotrys, a toxic mould that can be
deadly. Officials are waiting for results of tests being done on samples
that were sent to a lab.
Up
Stachybotrys in The Wall Street Journal
On May 15, 2001, The
Wall Street Journal on its page one helped alert people and
businesses to the growing problem of deadly Stachybotrys (or Stachybotris)
mould contamination.
"Stachybotris
chartarum, or stachy as it called for short, is invading a good many
buildings and homes. The mould isn’t new, nor is the problem; but the
recent outbreaks have people scared, and some of them have gone to
extremes to deal with it. The fuzzy intruder lurks behind wallpaper and
under sinks and feeds off moisture and building materials.
"Air-quality
experts and doctors link it to illnesses ranging from dry coughs and runny
noses to oozing rashes and constant fatigue. Allergy medicine helps, but
for long-term relief of symptoms, you have to get rid of the mould. And
despite all the mould and mildew removers for sale in supermarkets, that is
easier said than done." ["Don’t Call Stachybotris the Black
Plague, but It is Plaguing the South."]
Up
Mould
Infestation Threatens Homes
from http://news.excite.com/news/ap/010819/12/exp-black-mould
Updated: Sun, Aug 19, 2001, By BRIAN WITTE, Associated Press Writer
BELCOURT, N.D. (AP)
- Lowella Allard no longer goes into her basement, where mould grips the
walls and the damp, thick air is hard to breathe. Mould, she says, festers
inside the insulation and is the reason behind her dry cough and frequent
headaches. "I go through Tylenol like crazy and I just don't get any
better," Allard said during a tour of her home by officials from the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Indian Health Service and the
Bureau of Indian Affairs. Some 320 federally subsidized homes on the
Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation are infested with mould. Residents say
the infestation is sickening, and tribal officials say at least seven
deaths in recent years could be related to the infestation, which is so
pervasive they estimate 210 homes will have to be destroyed. Roughly 4,000
houses occupy the 72,000-acre reservation in north-central North Dakota.
About 8,300 people call it home. Most of the infested homes are small -
about 600 square feet with two bedrooms. They are built of wood-frame
construction, have dirt floors and sit on a concrete block foundation over
crawl spaces. Tribal officials are especially worried about the black
mould, which can cause flulike and allergy like symptoms that can include
skin rashes, inflammation of the respiratory tract, bloody noses, fever,
headaches, neurological problems and suppression of the immune system.
Charlissa Decoteau, whose mould-infested home was one of the five that
officials visited in July, said she believes the mould contributed to the
death of her 15-month-old daughter in 1998. Kyra Rose died shortly after
running a 105-degree fever. "That much mould has got to do something
to a baby," she said. "There's mould everywhere." The tribe
believes two dams - Belcourt Dam near the city and Gordon Lake Dam, just
off the reservation - may be contributing to excessive moisture, which
could be exacerbating the mould. Additionally, a wet cycle in recent years
has enabled the mould to thrive in homes. Crawl spaces under some homes are
flooded with 2 feet to 3 feet of standing water. After a brief visit to
the stuffy basement as Allard waited in her kitchen, Sen. Kent Conrad of
North Dakota said he could understand why she stays upstairs. "This
is bad. No wonder the woman is sick," he said as his eyes swept over
a mould-covered wall. Later in the tour, he said he, too, felt unwell even
though his visits indoors were brief. "I've never had that feeling in
my life," he said as he described being overwhelmed by musty air that
made him gag. "There are certainly a number of unexplained deaths,
especially of children," Conrad said, "and we know that they had
respiratory problems and we know that respiratory problems are caused by
this type of black mould." Tribal chairman Richard Monette said seven
or eight deaths in recent years are believed to be related to black mould.
"We have no idea the scope of this health problem," he said. "The one
thing that's clear to me is that it's going to be beyond what everybody is
going to want to guess." In response, tribal officials have sought federal
help. Congress approved $5 million in July to address the problem, and
Conrad, who describes the infestation as an emergency situation, said he
is seeking another $4 million. "Uncle Sam can't be a slum lord," Conrad
said. "The federal government's got a legal liability here." But even the
additional money, Conrad conceded, likely won't be sufficient to fully
address the problem. He estimated about $20 million would be needed. "This
is not a circumstance where you've got a little mould in a corner," Conrad
said. "This is a situation where you have mould that's throughout the
structure ... in the insulation, in the ceilings. I've never seen anything
quite like it." Two recent reports commissioned by the tribe have found
large amounts of sickening mould in homes, and the authors recommend
moving residents out as soon as possible. "Let's just say it's as bad a
mould situation as I've ever run across, and I've been doing this for
almost 15 years," said Ronald Pearson, the principal toxicologist and
industrial hygienist for Environmental Health and Safety Inc., a private
consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention is in the preliminary stages of testing homes for black mould,
spokeswoman Bernadette Burdon said. A preliminary CDC report found that
three out of every four homes sampled had mould, said Becky Phelps,
director of the Turtle Mountain Housing Authority. The tribe already has
moved about 25 families from severely infested homes to less moldy ones.
But some reservation residents have held protests, saying a response to
their plight is not happening fast enough. "We've been moving people out
based on medical emergencies as we get other units vacated for them to
move into, but we're bottoming out in that area," Phelps said.
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