Court Excludes Shoemaker Testimony in Legal Malpractice Suit

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A frequent mold expert's diagnosis of "mold illness" is not one accepted by the scientific community and cannot be used to support a lawsuit against plaintiffs' former attorneys, a federal judge ruled on July 22. Young, et al. v. Burton, et al., No. 07cv0983 (D. D.C.).

Judge Ellen S. Huvelle of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker, a Pocomoke, Md., physician whose practice focuses on environmental exposure cases, cannot testify as to the causes of illnesses claimed by Denicole Young and Vanessa Ghee.

The issue of medical causation arose …