Legal Question in Construction Law in Iowa

Re: Black Mold behind siding

Dear Homeowner: Consult legal counsel ASAP. Also seek medical diagnosis and treatment for Husband.

Properly installed siding should not leak!

Please see my website at: www.Jnormanstark.com

for the Construction Lawletter issues of November, 2002, etc. dealing with Toxic Mold claims.

Good luck, Godspeed. Respectfully, J. Norman Stark

J. NORMAN STARK, ATTORNEY and REGISTERED ARCHITECT

JURIS DOCTOR, B. ARCHITECTURE, B.F.A.

The Stark Building � 1310 East 49th Street � Cleveland, Ohio 44114-3803

Tel.: (216) 426-8400 � Fax: (216) 426-8411

In Florida � 6500 Midnight Pass Rd. #105 � Sarasota, FL 34242 � (941) 349-2061�

E-Mail: [email protected] � Homepage: www.Jnormanstark.com

Vol. 2002- 11 November, 2002

TOXIC MOLD CLAIMS; IAQ and SBS.

Throughout the recorded history of civilization our environment has been subject to contaminants that have seriously affected human beings, in varying degrees. Only recently have we come to recognize that the very important quality of life is being seriously affected by pollens, toxic molds and a long list of other contaminants in our air, water, wastes, and even in the very buildings and homes in which we work and live daily, giving rise to the term Sick Building Syndrome (�SBS�).

Molds, gases, hazardous metals, radiation and insect-bearing diseases are, like a biblical plague, creeping into homes, schools, public and private buildings, and other structures across our nation. News media have reported stories about various molds, including stachybotrys, strains of aspergillus, chaetomium and penicillium, among others. Each of these may have caused illness, damage and harm to individuals. One report told of two families who, in a frantic effort to rid themselves of the mold that permeated the walls, actually burned their homes!

There are over 100,000 known species of mold; not all are toxic. Some people are far more susceptible than others. Toxic molds are defined as those, like stachybotrys, that create airborne toxic spores called mycotoxins that can, upon human inhalation of sufficient quantities, cause effects ranging from breathing difficulties to lung damage to neurological / brain damage. Young children, the elderly, asthmatics and allergics are more vulnerable to mycotoxins. One study links a 300-percent increase in asthma rates over the past 20 years to toxic molds, and another attributes to such diseases nearly 100 percent of chronic sinus infections.

Many of the more serious mold reactions afflict relatively few individuals with hyper-sensitivity to certain toxins, and human reactions vary widely, greatly complicating the gathering of scientific documentation needed to establish quantitative public health standards for mold toxicity, or even the filing of any lawsuits requiring positive proof of cause...