As litigation rises, homebuilders working to stamp out spore of the moment
September 29, 2002 - James McCrossan was closely examining the framing of his first new home
in Las Vegas Valley when he noticed what appeared to be mold on several
of the wooden studs.
It was black and it flaked off at the touch, only to reveal more layers
underneath the affected area.
McCrossan was deeply concerned. His wife had suffered a severe reaction
to mold at a previous rental home in the valley.
He called the Clark County Building Department and was told that
building codes have no mold regulations to enforce. A building official
recommended that he hire a private company to treat the mold before the
contractors put up the Sheetrock.
"There is a very strong possibility that I will never have any problems
stemming from the current conditions," McCrossan said.
Still, after contacting the county building department, he said he was
surprised to learn that the codes don't even address the issue.
"With more reported links to health afflictions associated with mold
spores of unsuspecting homeowners, this seems irresponsible," he said.
Steve Hill, president of Silver State Materials and chairman of the
Coalition for Fairness in Construction, said mold may occasionally be
found on lumber shipped into Las Vegas, but it's nothing to worry about.
There are several thousand types of mold, he said, most of which pose no
health risks.
"Only one or two types are actually harmful to people, and quite often
it's not the kind that's found here," Hill said.
Despite working in one of the nation's driest climates, Nevada's
home-building industry in recent years has become the target of an
increasing number of lawsuits filed over moldy wood.
"Yeah, it is becoming more of a problem," said Thomas Miller, a
California attorney regarded as an authority in construction defect
litigation. "Las Vegas is a high-growth area with mass construction
going on and low quality of construction. We've seen significant
evidence of construction defects."
Miller said the public has become better informed about health problems
caused by mold, which has led to more reporting of respiratory
illnesses, dizziness and nausea.
"If you move the homeowners away from their environment, these problems
tend to go away and diminish with time. Now you've added the injury
component to the property damage claim," Miller said.
Hill said: "It's something that the industry is going to have to address
because it is a serious problem for some people and I don't know who
should be responsible for that,"
Homeowners' insurance policies are excluding mold coverage, as are
contractors' insurance companies, he said.
Although trial lawyers are adding moldy wood to their list of
construction lawsuit targets, the construction industry believes
educating the public about the true nature of mold and what to do to
prevent it will help offset the rising tide of litigation.
The Nevada home-building industry is taking aggressive measures aimed at
restricting mold growth, while encouraging homeowners to do their share
to retard the growth and spread of mold.
Home-building representatives adamantly contend that moldy wood does not
constitute a construction defect, despite arguments raised by trial
attorneys.
"There is no mold crisis in Las Vegas," said Monica Caruso, spokeswoman
for the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association. "This is the
attorneys trying to generate a new revenue stream for themselves, a way
to get more lawsuits. Attorneys are running out of construction defect
issues. Now they're trying to push these mold cases."
She said the presence of dust mites is much more likely to cause allergy
symptoms in the home.
"It's important to understand that mold is not a construction issue.
It's a moisture issue," Hill said. "Mold needs moisture to grow, sure,
but not necessarily a lot, just some. In any house there's a certain
amount of moisture. If there's a plumbing leak or a drip, that can
facilitate growth."
Much of the moisture comes from landscaping, Hill said. A sprinkler can
get turned and throw water back at the house, on the wall and window
frames, which allows mildew to begin to grow.
Miller said only about 5 percent of mold lawsuits list sprinklers as the
cause, while 90 percent of the cases are from leaking roofs and windows
and second-story decks that are nowhere near a sprinkler.
Ron Lynn, building inspector for Clark County, said he's seen some mold
on construction sites in the valley, but not much.
"Everyone in construction sees mold on wood occasionally, sometimes when
a bathroom is being renovated or some leaky pipes are being fixed," he
said.
"Mold is certainly not something you want in the home. It's strange
because we have a heightened sensitivity to it here. You go back East
where they have a lot of basements, it's there. It's been around a long
time."
Lynn said he's unaware of any building codes nationally that deal with
mold, though he believes there will be discussions in the coming year
about it.
The building department looks at fire and life-safety issues in
construction, and the problem with adopting mold regulations is experts
have different views on how harmful it is, Lynn said.
"It's very fertile ground for construction defect (lawsuits) because it
looks very bad, but I don't think the impact has truly been quantified,"
he said.
The construction coalition recognizes that mold can be a problem in
residential and commercial construction, and is trying to educate the
public about the different kinds of molds found on wood. It also notes
that Nevada's dry climate will probably kill most molds before they can
grow and spread.
"Every house is susceptible to mold growth in one way or another," said
Richard Thomas of Gary G. Day Construction in Las Vegas and past
president of the Nevada Framers Association. "At one point in time,
almost everybody involved in the home building industry has run into a
problem from potential homeowners over mold."
Thomas said the two prevalent forms of mold here are aspergillus and
penicillium, neither of which is conducive to growth in the valley's dry
climate.
Black mold, which feeds off the organic compounds in building materials,
is the result of a water intrusion of some sort such as a leaking pipe
or other source, including lack of homeowner maintenance.
Black mold has garnered national media attention for allegedly causing
illnesses among homeowners across the country. Hill said there were
1,300 lawsuits filed in Texas in 2001 related to mold.
Thomas acknowledged that black mold may lead to illness if undetected or
if the source of water intrusion isn't fixed.
In contrast, the aspergillus and penicillium forms of mold are more
common and are far easier to eradicate, he said. Builders can eliminate
these molds simply by cleaning the wood with commercial mildew removers,
or a solution of household bleach and water.
"With all the research information available, we were unable to find one
recorded case of adverse health effects resulting from these two molds
on lumber," Thomas said.
Builders must also work with homeowners to ensure there are no sources
of moisture in the home, Thomas said.
Some builders are including provisions in their sales contracts
requiring homeowners to keep landscaping and water sources away from
foundations to prevent water intrusion and, possibly, a mold problem, he
said.
"You don't see trapped moisture until you see the mold," said Ian Simon,
owner of Odor Masters, a Las Vegas company that detects and removes mold
contamination. "It's very prevalent. You've got a lot of new homes, new
construction."
Homeowners need to be wary of companies that treat mold, Simon said, as
some are charging $20,000 and more for a job that should only cost
$1,000 to $3,000.
"A lot of companies out there are preying on fears of homeowners and
people are getting ripped off," he said. "These guys are just running
amok. Mold companies right now are like auto mechanics of yesteryear."
Spearheading the home building industry's efforts to reduce construction
litigation and rein in liability insurance costs, the construction
coalition is seeking legislation providing builders and contractors with
the "right to repair" deficiencies in housing construction, before
lawsuits prevent contact with homeowners and access to homes to make
needed repairs.
The coalition also is asking legislators to develop a "fair definition
of construction defect" to help curtail unwarranted lawsuits.
Defining defects and granting the right to repair will let homeowners
receive prompt home repairs while avoiding lengthy lawsuits, the
coalition contends.
Caruso noted that Nevada's construction litigation epidemic and its
resulting insurance crisis flies in the face of a recent independent
study by J.D. Power and Associates that ranked metropolitan Las Vegas
third in overall new-home buyer satisfaction among 16 U.S. cities.
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