TERRE HAUTE — Plaintiffs in a five-year-old personal-injury lawsuit against a Terre Haute eye clinic may have to wait until at least early 2009 for their day in court.
A trial date of Feb. 23, 2009, was set Thursday in the lawsuit that alleges that 14 employees became ill because of mold in the Wabash Valley Surgery and Eye Center.
Filed in April 2002, the case came before Judge Phillip Adler on Thursday for a new trial date and for the parties to argue three separate motions for summary judgment – two from defendants and one from plaintiffs.
The case stems from incidents in 1995 through 2001, in which employees at the eye center began experiencing respiratory illnesses, headaches and fatigue.
One defendant – CDI Inc., the builder of the eye center – is arguing for summary judgment on a theory that the plaintiffs failed to file the lawsuit within the statute of limitations. Two other defendants, Associated Physicians & Surgeons Clinic LLC, and AP&S; LLC II, are arguing for summary judgment on a theory that AP&S; was not the entity responsible for maintaining the building at the time of the alleged illnesses, and should not be included in the suit. Finally, the plaintiffs seek summary judgment to stop defendant CDI Inc. from naming one of its subcontractors as a non-party to the lawsuit.
After arguments Thursday, Adler said he would review the pleadings and rule in 30 days.
Twelve of the plaintiffs are represented by Terre Haute attorney Chris Gambill; one by Chou-Il Lee, and another by Keith L. Johnson, both Terre Haute attorneys.
CDI Inc. is represented by John H. Daerr of the Locke Reynolds law firm in Indianapolis; AP&S; LLC and AP&S; LLC II both are represented by Joseph D. O’Connor III of the Bunger & Robertson law firm in Bloomington, and Artenka Design, the architect, is represented by Jeff Blazi of the Stuart & Branigin law firm in Indianapolis.
As part of the initial lawsuit, plaintiffs alleged that building contractor CDI Inc. and owner AP&S; failed to:
• Properly maintain the building at 422 Poplar St.;
• Repair it after defects were discovered;
• Require adequate heating, ventilation and air conditioning to be installed;
• Make CDI design and build properly and use the proper materials; and
• The builder’s and property owner’s negligence led to the growth of stachybotrys and other types of molds that sickened the staff working in the building.
Stachybotrys is a greenish-black, slimy mold that thrives on damp cellulose products such as wood and paper. It and other types of mold can release toxic chemicals known as mycotoxins. Exposure to stachybotrys can cause chronic respiratory disease, including the development of asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Plaintiffs had developed adult-onset asthma, memory loss, sinusitis and allergic rhinitis, according to a Tribune-Star report in 2004.
According to Craig McKee, former attorney for AP&S; Clinic, Union Hospital took steps to fix the problem when mold was discovered at the facility in 2000. AP&S; Clinic is part of Union Hospital Health Group. The physicians who work at the clinic belong to AP&S; but the support staff are employees of Union Hospital, which leases the building from AP&S.;
Workers removed mold, replaced windows and repaired the roof. The repairs were finished in 2001.
Adler said Thursday that an earlier trial date for the case will not be possible because of renovations in the Vigo County Courthouse. Adler, who presides over cases in Vigo County Superior Court Division 2, has been occupying a small courtroom in the Community Corrections Center at the corner of Ohio and First streets where he hears civil lawsuits.
He said Thursday that the AP&S; trial “can’t happen in this courtroom,” because of the great number of attorneys and exhibits.
The permanent courtroom for Division 2 — in the courthouse — is not expected to be complete until at least summer 2008, Adler said. Because the trial is expected to last about four to five weeks, Adler suggested delaying it until early 2009.
Adler also said he looked into borrowing another judge’s courtroom in the courthouse, but it isn’t workable. Part of the reason Adler was temporarily assigned to the Community Corrections building is that he hears only civil cases, in which the defendants are not incarcerated.
All the other Vigo County judges hear criminal cases, and many of their defendants are coming to court from the Vigo County jail – across Ohio Street from the Community Corrections building.
If Adler were to switch courtrooms with another judge for the duration of the trial, he said, the Sheriff’s Department would have to hire additional security to escort inmates from the jail to the other building. Currently, inmates are walked from the jail a short distance to the courthouse.
Deb Kelly can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.mckee@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Mold trial pushed back to 2009
Wabash Valley Surgery and Eye Care employees filed suit in 2002
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Asian hooded crane lands in Greene County wildlife area
Bird watchers are flocking to a southwestern Indiana wildlife area to try to catch a glimpse of a crane usually spotted only in Asia.
-
Slow drips: It’s maple syrup season in Indiana
More seasonal, colder temperatures will hit the Wabash Valley this weekend, which is ideal weather for maple syrup production, said Keith Ruble, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
However, Ruble voices concern that this year’s maple syrup season may be short.
-
Downtown restaurant celebrates expansion
The streets of Terre Haute were chilly Thursday night, but for the glow of hot pasta inside Louise’s Pizzeria and Cafe.
-
Contract signed for new Y
Papers are signed and the ink is in place for a new YMCA to operate in Terre Haute.
-
City to impose $30 release fee on towed vehicles
The Terre Haute City Council voted without opposition Thursday to impose a new $30 release fee on vehicles towed and impounded by the police as part of a criminal investigation.
-
Valley educators cautious on Indiana’s ‘No Child’ waiver
Indiana is one of 10 states to receive a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
-
Driver dies after Illinois school bus crash
“Brace yourself. Brace yourself,” Fay Pickering shouted to her students just before the school bus she was driving crossed U.S. 40 and landed in a ditch Thursday morning.
-
Trial date set for former WTH police chief
A July 23 trial date has been set for a former police chief of West Terre Haute accused of theft.
-
Motorcycle gang member pleads guilty in federal court
A member of an Indianapolis motorcycle gang who delivered methamphetamine to a Terre Haute dealer has pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court.
-
July trial date set for mother charged with child neglect
A July 30 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute mother charged with neglecting and battering her toddler.
-
Business hosting SPPRAK fundraiser
Java Haute is hosting the latest fundraiser sponsored by SPPRAK — Special People Performing Random Acts of Kindness.
-
Valley high school cooking competition under way today
Clabber Girl Corp. and Gordon Food Services will host the fourth-annual High School Chef Competition, beginning today through Saturday, and again Feb. 18, in the Culinary Classroom at Clabber Girl.
- UPDATE: Marshall, Ill., school bus driver involved in accident dies; cause appears to be cardiac-related
-
Terre Haute road name game
What used to be called U.S. 40 from the Wabash River west through West Terre Haute to Interstate 70 needs to be renamed and, probably, get new street addresses, a Vigo County planner recommends.
-
MARK BENNETT: William Henry Harrison taught us how to campaign
William Henry Harrison is running for president, again.
It seems impossible, because today would be his 239th birthday, and America has never elected a deceased person to the Oval Office. -
Air National Guard cuts won’t hit 181st Intelligence Wing
The Air National Guard is taking the lion’s share of planned cuts announced last week by the U.S. Air Force. But no cuts are currently expected at Terre Haute’s 181st Intelligence Wing. In fact, the nation’s evolving defense strategy may spell growth at the local base.
-
Friends group takes over Ernie Pyle home in Dana
The western Indiana home in which renowned Hoosier journalist Ernie Pyle was born and an adjacent museum dedicated to preserving his legacy as a World War II correspondent have a new owner.
-
ISU rec center pool out of service while being repaired
Indiana State University is spending about $10,000 to repair a swimming pool at the Student Recreation Center, which opened in 2009.
-
Clinton man throws away, then recovers, $50,000 ticket
A Vermillion County man found himself in a scenario that strikes fear in the heart of Lottery players everywhere. He threw away a $50,000 winning ticket.
-
Show to feature talents of artists with disabilities
Artists whose disabilities have overshadowed their work get a chance to shine in the light of a prodigy this coming month.
-
Fort Wayne forester tells of damage
The emerald ash borer likely will cause as much as $8 million in damage to Fort Wayne’s ash trees by 2015, the city’s manager of forestry operations told a Terre Haute audience Tuesday.
-
Unclaimed assets now part of Goodwill auction site
Many of Indiana’s unclaimed assets are now on Goodwill’s online auction site, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced Tuesday.
-
Toyota to increase Highlander output in Indiana
Toyota will increase production of the Highlander mid-size SUV in late 2013 at the company’s Princeton, Indiana plant. Hybrid and export versions will be included. The project is expected to create about 400 new jobs at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana Inc.
-
Friends of Ernie Pyle takes ownership, renames Dana museum
The western Indiana home in which renowned Hoosier journalist Ernie Pyle was born, and an adjacent museum dedicated to preserving his legacy as a World War II correspondent, have a new owner.
-
Spreading Goodwill
Goodwill Industries Inc. on Tuesday opened its third Terre Haute store.
-
Feds sending money to Feather Creek
Clinton residents have reason to celebrate.
Federal officials have granted more than $800,000 toward a $1.2 million project of widening and deepening Feather Creek, which has been a flooding problem in the city since the Great Depression. Work could begin in spring 2013. -
City to clean up Toney site
A contaminated petroleum site at the northwestern edge of Indiana State University’s campus will be transferred to the city of Terre Haute to remove the property from a pending sale.
-
Bennett: Terre Haute ‘moving in the right direction’
After four years of shrinking budgets and a slow economy, Terre Haute is “moving in the right direction,” Mayor Duke Bennett said Tuesday morning in his first “State of the City” address since being re-elected by Terre Haute voters in November.
Difficult financial and political battles are largely in the past, he said, and now the city can start moving forward in ways not possible in the past four years. -
Terre Haute group locates missing caver
An Iraq war veteran and caving enthusiast took his own life about half a mile from where he left his car on a rural road but more than four months passed before four young spelunkers exploring where they weren’t allowed found him deep inside a treacherous cave, Indiana conservation officers said Tuesday.
-
Schools celebrate rising graduation rates as ‘team effort’
For the fourth year in a row, Vigo County School Corp. graduation rates have topped the state average, school district officials said during a news conference Tuesday.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Asian hooded crane lands in Greene County wildlife area
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Sandusky makes a statement
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow
Halle Wants to Leave the Country
Northern Lights shine above earth
Plane makes perfect belly landing
Kris Jenner New Face of Arousal Oils
Trending: Zip it!
What's in Steve Jobs' FBI file?
SJP Talks About Replacing Demi Moore in 'Lovelace'
Over 200 dead dolphins wash ashore
Lady Gaga's Battle With Bulimia
Evacuation at Sea
Osama Bin Laden Zombie Movie: "Osombie" Teaser Released
VS Model Quits Over Religion
