Mold to be removed from Las Vegas home

Tuesday, June 13, 2000 | 10:47 a.m.

A Las Vegas resident claiming for months that mold removal at her home was insufficient is being relocated this week while her condo is recleaned.

Judi Root, a vocal housing rights activist, was put up in a local hotel Monday so her home can be cleaned from the inside out. Her problems with mold inside the walls of her home was the subject of a Sun story in March.

Root is part of a class-action suit filed by members of the Quail Estates West homeowners association against their builder, Ribeiro Development Corp. of Las Vegas and Clark-Ribeiro, the joint partnership it says developed the complex.

The suit, filed in 1999, alleges there are numerous construction defects at the complex. Root's residence is the only one found to have high levels of mold.

A spokesman for Valentine Construction, the company that will clean the condo, said all of the furniture will be bubble wrapped and taken to a warehouse to be cleaned with a special filtering system. The carpet and any mold-contaminated wallboards will also be removed. Valentine Construction specializes in construction-defect repairs.

Root's condo at Quail Estates West, 2851 S. Valley View Blvd., was found to be infested with high amounts of toxic mold in January and February and according to her doctor, it was making her sick.