Homeowners say fungus makes them sick

Lisa Snedeker

Friday, March 12, 1999 | 11:48 a.m.

Retirees Ana and Florentino Garcia bought a brand-new condominium in Robert Jones Co.'s Echo Glenn complex, 6480 Annie Oakley Drive, a year and a half ago.

Building 13 turned out to be an unlucky number for the Garcias, who discovered four months ago they had a roommate: stachybotrys. In English that means mold.

The couple discovered the black fungus was growing inside their master bathroom walls when mold was found in their downstairs neighbor's condominium.

A water leak, caused by a drainpipe that was improperly hooked up, according to the homeowner's association president, was coming from the Garcias' unit.

The mold was a result of running water being absorbed into the walls of the less than 3-year-old units.

The Garcias' bathroom fixtures, and those of Sharon Pflughoeft, have been torn out for four months. The pipes must be repaired and the walls reconstructed, to the tune of at least $12,000, according to Diane Angis, president of the homeowner's association for the 64 units.

That's not including the cost of removing the mold, which is similar to that of asbestos removal, said Linda Stetzenbach, director of the UNLV microbiology division. Asbestos particles, used in fireproof materials, can cause respiratory illness when inhaled, so can stachybotrys.

The Garcias and their neighbors are a good example of why Chapter 40, known as the state's current construction defect law, is needed, according to homeowners and the attorneys representing them in such cases.

Home builders and their attorneys, however, say the Echo Glenn case supports the need for revisions in the law being sought by Senate Bill 286, which was sponsored by Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas.

The bill was scheduled to be heard today before a Senate Commerce and Labor Committee workshop in the Legislative Building in Carson City.

When Angis first contacted Robert Jones about the plumbing leak, she said no one from the company would come out and look at the problem because the warranty was expired.

"They refused to do anything," she said. "They abandoned the complex."

But when the defective pipe was discovered, Angis called an attorney, Robert Maddox, and hired experts to take some tests. That's when Robert Jones sent out their own experts to conduct additional tests.

But Robert Jones' attorney, Jim Pengilly, said that's not true.

Pengilly, who is representing the builder in the Echo Glenn case, said the first Robert Jones heard of the plumbing leak and the subsequent mold problem was when the company received a notice letter from Maddox that is required under Chapter 40.

Under Chapter 40, the builder has the option to go out and try to verify the problem. It also requires the homeowner and the home builder to engage in mediation before a lawsuit can be filed.

"We retained an inspector and went out there and took a sample as provided for under Chapter 40," Pengilly said. "We've never heard anything back from the homeowner."

Pengilly said of the indoor and outdoor samples that were taken, the results from one of the units -- Pflughoeft's downstairs condo -- was inconclusive so a cash settlement was offered.

"Under the statute, we can offer cash or we can fix it," he said.

Pengilly, who said the homeowners have not responded to the builder's offer, would not disclose the amount because of the pending litigation, but Angis said it was only $7,000 and only for one unit.

"It's going to take a lot more than that," Angis said.

Lena Louis, an attorney for the association, said a lawsuit concerning numerous defects in the complex including the mold has been filed against Robert Jones.

She added that she rejected in a Feb. 22 letter Robert Jones' offer that said if accepted, no other claims under Chapter 40 could be filed against Robert Jones concerning Echo Glenn.

Louis said Robert Jones' inspectors did not go into the Garcias' unit despite an offer to look at the unit and would not verify the potential health risk.

Ana Garcia said she has experienced respiratory problems since the mold invaded her home.

Stetzenbach, who holds a doctorate degree in microbiology, confirmed that the fungus, when inhaled, can cause a variety of health problems.

Dr. James Craner, who is a board-certified occupational and environmental medicine physician in Verdi, west of Reno, said he has examined Ana Garcia as well as hundreds of others who have been exposed to indoor mold.

"There are significant health effects most likely caused by mold," he said, adding this is an emerging disease, about which many physicians remain ignorant. "These people (homeowners in Echo Glenn) need protection because there are no health standards (concerning indoor mold)."

Stetzenbach said the mold grows on wet paper-containing building materials.

"It's common where there has been flooding, roof leaks or water intrusion from plumbing leaks," she said. "This organism can grow to high numbers and become visible."

Stachybotrys is receiving attention because it has the potential to produce several toxins, which can cause a variety of symptoms including headaches, rash, muscle fatigue, and joint pain, as well as more severe neurological and respiratory problems, according to Stetzenbach.

"The medical community has only recently been gathering information on exposure to people in an indoor environment," she said, adding effects of exposure in agricultural settings have been known for years. "Animals would eat the mold (growing on wet feed) and get very sick and die."

While doctors and researchers have not yet been able to determine how much exposure is dangerous, they are fairly certain the young and elderly can be affected more severely.

Stetzenbach explained the reason remediation is much like that of asbestos removal is because when the fungus spores are disturbed and come off the wall board or building materials they become airborne.

The fungus also can become airborne inside a home through normal human activity such as vacuuming, Stetzenbach said.

"Professional remediation is needed to minimize spreading (the spores)," she said.

State law says if there is a health or safety issue the builder is required to respond immediately.

Maddox said one of the provisions of the lawsuit against Robert Jones is that the company did not provide alternate housing for the Garcias and their neighbors.

"When the toxic mold was found on the building materials we immediately demanded the developer provide alternative housing (as required under the law)," he said. "They referred us to their attorney who brought in their own microbiologist who initially said there was no health hazard to these people."

Stachybotrys, according to Pengilly, is a "boutique" mold that attorneys in Southern California started using as a claim against home builders about five years ago.

Schneider has said he is concerned about the proliferation of lawsuits being filed against builders in Southern Nevada for shoddy workmanship. The movement is reminiscent of the litigation boom that was set off by a similar housing boom in Southern California.

Schneider has said his No. 1 goal is to protect consumers. One way Senate Bill 286 does that is by eliminating what he calls "frivolous" lawsuits over minor defects that eventually raise the cost of home construction throughout the state.

Pengilly said in the Echo Glenn case it was unusual for there to be an actual defect instead of someone just pulling off walls to find something wrong.

"This one (case) is different," he said. "They actually have something wrong."

Pengilly added that in the case of a construction defect, the homeowner can sue despite a home warranty or lack thereof.

Four years ago filing a lawsuit was the only recourse for Nevada homeowners who discovered construction defects only a few years after they purchased their condominium or home.

Then the 1995 Legislature adopted Chapter 40, which Schneider and home builders want to see changed.

But attorneys for homeowners, like Maddox, said they are concerned that if SB286 is passed it will make it harder for homeowners like those at Echo Glenn to sue a builder.

For example, the bill would shorten the time a claim can be brought against a builder to four years.

Under Chapter 40, the statute of limitations ranges from six to 10 years depending on the defect.

"Some of the stuff in there (the bill) is non-negotiable," Maddox said. "We will not concede on the statute of limitations."

Maddox, who is president of the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association, which opposes the bill, said the Echo Glenn owners could not get satisfaction if SB286 were law.

"The way it is drafted, they wouldn't have a case," he said.

Schneider disagrees, saying the intent behind the bill is for homeowners to take some additional steps before they can take their builder to court.

For example, the bill is proposing that home builders have 135 days to rectify faulty construction, rather than the 45 days stated in the current law.

"What builders would like to see is plaintiffs' attorneys and me out of the picture (mediation)," Pengilly said. "They would like to see the homeowners work with the builders."

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