The author is a shareholder at Philadelphia-based Christie, Pabarue, Mortensen and Young, P.C., where he concentrates his practice in the representation of insurers in coverage disputes. The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and are not necessarily those of his firm or its clients.
This article originally appeared in Environmental Claims Journal, Vol. 14, No. 3, Summer 2002, Copyright 2002 CRC Press LLC (http://www.crcpress.com)
Mold is a naturally occurring fungus. Mold litigation, on the other hand, is quite man-made. Take the ingenuity of the plaintiffs’ bar, mix in a few high-profile plaintiffs, intense media coverage (including misinformation), and uncertain science. Then stir in a pinch of legislative involvement, public hysteria, and various collateral opportunists hovering above. Finally, pour the mixture into a tort system run amok, where the only prerequisite to making a settlement demand is having a docket number. The result is litigation over mold
