Virgin Islands Court Reduces Office Worker's Mold Award from $1.29 Million to $150,000

ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands – A federal judge has reduced a $1.29 million jury verdict to $150,000 after concluding that a reduced award was appropriate where an office worker claimed that mold exposure exacerbated an existing illness.

Chief Judge Curtis V. Gomez of the U.S. District Court for the Virgin Islands granted an office landlord's motion for remittitur, but denied his motion for judgment as a matter of law despite finding flaws in an environmental expert's methodology and a lack of expert testimony to support specific causation.

Lorraine Smith complained that she was exposed to mold while employed by the …