Judge Matoesian: Mold claim stops here!

Madison County Circuit Judge Andy Matoesian won't allow attorney Lanny Darr of Godfrey to reopen a suit over mold in the Bissell Apartments of Venice.

At a March 14 hearing, Matoesian found no reason to vacate a summary judgment order that he granted to Bissell owners and managers in November.

Darr represented renter Kesha Manning in a proposed class action on behalf of all Bissell residents who suffered property damage due to mold.

When Matoesian threw out the case in November he told Darr, "There is no question of fact and she does not have any damage."

Darr moved to vacate the order.

He then hired a hygienist to test Manning's apartment for fungi.

In a Feb. 5 brief he argued that the amount of damages was irrelevant because discovery was continuing.

"Defendants failed to grasp that the time for plaintiff to disclose her and her witnesses' opinions had yet to elapse," he wrote.

"Discovery was and still is in its early stages," he wrote.

He submitted a fungus test, but Troy Bozarth of Edwardsville protested on behalf of owner BA-2003 Limited Partnership and manager Independent Management Services.

"Manning is attempting to submit evidence which would have been readily available to her since before the lawsuit began," Bozarth wrote Feb. 20.

Matoesian agreed, standing by his November decision.