Couple sues companies over toxic molds

By TOM KERTSCHER
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: July 7, 2001

A couple that wants the City of Franklin to condemn their home, saying toxic molds
made it uninhabitable, is suing an insurance company and a construction company
over the same problem.

The Milwaukee County Circuit Court lawsuit was filed June 26 by Franklin residents
Nicholas and Lori Murphy against Cincinnati Insurance Co. of Wausau, which provided
their homeowners insurance, and O.T. Construction of Milwaukee, which made repairs
to the home.

The couple, represented by Milwaukee attorney Richard Schulz, alleges that they and
their three children were forced from their W. Franklin Terrace home after damage from
wind and rain on July 2, 2000. The storm caused a "mold condition creating a serious
health risk," the suit says.

The couple is asking the city to raze the home, which was gutted and rebuilt after the
storm, as a public health nuisance, or to set building guidelines a contractor could follow
to solve the problem. They said they bought the 1920s farmhouse in 1988 and abandoned
it and their belongings last August after one of their sons began coughing up traces of blood.

The suit alleges that the $107,000 paid by the insurance company did not cover the damages
and that the construction company was negligent in its repairs. Attorneys for the two
companies could not be reached for comment.

According to the Murphys, the storm dislodged their siding and saturated their walls with
water. They said repairs did not begin until last October, after the insurance company
completed its investigation, allowing mold to grow and spread undetected.

Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 8, 2001

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