Facts

Plaintiffs William and Sheri Jeha and their two children, Madison and Clayton, filed a complaint against single-family residence owner Cleve Yu for suffering allegedly caused by toxic mold after a less than seven-week tenancy in the Danville home.

Shortly after the plaintiffs moved into their residence, a leak under the kitchen sink and problems in two bathrooms were discovered. They sought the help from a plumber who promptly fixed the problems. Approximately four weeks into tenancy, Yu's insurance carrier retained Benchmark to conduct air testing and bulk testing of mold. The test results indicated slightly elevated spore courts indoors as compared to outdoors and the existence of Stachybotrys in the kitchen. The plaintiffs claimed that they were advised by a relative's friend (in the mold testing business) that they should immediately vacate, with the clothes on their backs and leave all of their personal possessions behind; however, they vacated the residence immediately.

About two months later, the Jehas sought medical advice from Dr. Vincent Marinkovich, who conducted blood tests, including MAST IgE, which is FDA approved, and MAST IgG, which is not FDA approved.

Three months later, Sheri and Madison had their first visit with the doctor. Much time passed before he saw William, and years later, he saw Clayton for the first time. After analyzing symptoms and evaluating test results (MAST IgE was negative for mold allergy and MAST IgG was positive for various exposure to various molds), Dr. Marinkovich opined that Sheri and Clayton, in particular, suffered from "Fungal Hypersensitivity" resulting from heavy mold exposure during their tenancy.

Feb. 6 was the first day of trial and the Honorable Judge Judith S. Craddick ordered an Evidence Code Section 402 hearing on the defendant's motion to exclude Dr. Marinkovich's MAST IgG test, and his testimony alleging exposure to mold while residing in Yu's residence caused the family's injuries. Judge Craddick ruled that Dr. Marinkovich's testimony about the MAST IgG test did not meet the Kelly/Frye test of reliability and that the testimony connecting alleged injury to the Jehas and mold exposure would be excluded as the claims are speculative and without evidentiary support.

Result

Defense. The plaintiffs paid $7,500 to Yu.