Dee

INTRODUCTION

“Mold is a fungus which is essentially everywhere. Almost every breath we take contains mold spores.” (Comment, Mold Is Gold: But, Will It Be the Next Asbestos? (2003) 30 Pepperdine L.Rev. 529, 532, fns. omitted.) “Exposure to certain types of mold, known as toxic mold, allegedly may cause a severe reaction. ‘Toxic mold refers to those molds capable of producing mycotoxins, which are organic compounds capable of initiating a toxic response in vertebrates.’ ” (Ibid., fn. omitted.)

(1) A jury returned a defense verdict in Darcee Dee’s (appellant’s) lawsuit stemming from her exposure to mold in her apartment. On appeal, Dee challenges the trial court’s exclusion of proposed expert testimony that her numerous ailments, ranging from an increased risk of cancer to fibromyalgia, were caused by her exposure to mold. In the published portion of this opinion, we conclude that because Dee’s experts relied on unsupported assumptions and inadmissible blood and brain tests, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding their opinions lacked foundation. In the unpublished portion of the opinion, we find Dee’s remaining challenges are unsupported by legal…