MIAMI – All is not well with the complex that one of the nation’s busiest federal court districts calls home. In fact, one of the buildings itself may be sick. A brand new 14-story courthouse sits sparkling in the sunshine, surrounded by a chainlink fence
Cost to U.S. taxpayers: $163 million so far, way beyond the original $100 million budget. Across the street, mold has taken root in a historic limestone courthouse opened in 1933, raising questions about whether the fungus contributed to a magistrate judge’s death in September 2006 from a respiratory illness.
Eradicating the gunk found throughout the three-story structure and basement could cost millions more, and the judge’s children may file a wrongful death lawsuit, depending on the results of a new expert analysis of the mold’s health risks.
The mold is "a huge, huge problem," said attorney Alan Goldfarb, whose firm is representing the children of the late Magistrate Judge Theodore Klein, 66, who had been in good health, an avid skier and jogger. Miami’s federal court district has long been one of the nation’s busiest.
Its recent high-profile cases include the trial of al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla, the fraud conviction of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the continuing saga of Panama’s former dictator, Manuel Noriega, who is fighting extradition to France. Drug kingpins, money launderers and corrupt politicians have peppered the dockets over the years.
The heavy caseload led Congress in 1998 to approve construction of the new courthouse, built to resemble a ship gliding among a series of grassy hills that look like waves. But a series of costly delays has plagued the project, including major electrical problems, water damage from hurricanes and a dispute between the building’s owner, the General Services Administration, and its main contractor.
The court clerk, Steve Larimore, said some courtrooms still don’t have viable sound and video capabilities necessary for trials and hearings. The project’s general contractor, Pittsburgh-based Dick Corp., declined comment about why it has taken so long. GSA spokesman Gary Mote would say only that the agency is "in discussions" with the company about the delays and disputes.
The inability to open the new courthouse effectively means more people have had to work longer in the old David W. Dyer courthouse, an imposing, Spanish- Mediterranean Revival structure built from Florida Keys stone. Goldfarb, his fellow attorneys and a team of environmental experts spent three days in early February checking for mold throughout the Dyer building.
The experts wore masks and protection suits and occasionally asked the attorneys to leave because of concerns about the mold they encountered. Mold has been linked to asthma, allergies, respiratory, skin and eye problems and lung infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mold, mold spores, water damage and peeling paint are apparent on all three floors and the basement of the building, including the area once occupied by Klein, according to their preliminary findings. It will take a few more weeks to determine the type of mold and whether is it hazardous to human health.
Previous studies conducted on the Dyer building also found elevated levels of mold in some places, resulting in the gutting of certain rooms, changes to air conditioning and filtration systems and other work. One study, commissioned by the court after Klein became ill and completed in 2006, suggested his sickness "could be attributed to exposure to molds."
The GSA has also asked the federal Public Health Service to conduct a study at the Dyer building, but Mote said its report has not been completed. In a memo to courthouse staff last year, Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno said elevated levels of mold were confined to only a few areas.
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