Ruling
is a setback for Oconee school officials
WALHALLA — A judge
Tuesday issued a ruling that in effect sets aside a jury verdict last year that
awarded $1 to a former Keowee Elementary student and her parents in connection
with a mold case filed against the School District of Oconee County.
In a post-trial
hearing, Circuit Judge J.C. Nicholson granted additional damages to Ashley
Lowrey and her parents, Cathy and Karl Lowrey, or a new trial for Ashley
Lowrey, who now attends Walhalla Middle School.
Nicholson calculated
additional damages for the family of $9,339.29, which represents actual medical
costs incurred since Ashley began experiencing getting sick from exposure to a
mold-infested building at Keowee Elementary.
Oconee County school
officials must choose between paying the additional damages or accepting a new
trial for Ashley. Nicholson denied a new trial for the parents, who sued the
school district separately.
Attorney Tom Barlow,
who represents the school district, said another option for his client would be
to appeal Nicholson’s ruling Tuesday. School officials have 30 days to make
their intentions known.
The Lowreys’ attorney,
Lawton McIntosh, said he would have preferred a ruling that would have granted
new trials for Ashley and her parents.
Cathy Lowrey, who
attended Tuesday’s hearing, said her daughter continues to incur medical
expenses.
Nicholson was the
presiding judge in the weeklong trial between the Lowreys and the school
district in August of 2007.
After deliberating for
about two hours, the jury found that a mold problem existed at the school but
offered nothing to compensate Ashley. Nicholson told the jury it could not do
that and sent them back to determine a monetary award. Fifteen minutes later,
the jury came back with its $1 award.
School officials
addressed the existence of a mold problem inside a block building at Keowee
Elementary School in November of 2003. Teachers and students vacated the
building so it could be renovated and have the mold problem eradicated.
Another family filed a
mold-related lawsuit against the school district in June of last year. In that
case, the jury found the school district guilty of gross negligence but did not
award damages. Another judge denied a request for a new trial in that case.
http://www.upstatetoday.com/news/2008/apr/16/judge-orders-payment-or-new-trial-school-mold-case/
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