By Kylie McGivern
TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge is allowing military families at MacDill Air Force Base to combine all mold-related cases into a single lawsuit against housing contractor The Michaels Organization.
The number of plaintiffs will nearly double — from 40 families to 93 families — representing more than 400 people alleging fraud, negligence, and health problems tied to mold in base housing.
“We can’t be mission ready if our service members are sick, nor can we be mission ready if our service members’ families are sick,” Just Well Law attorney Kristina Baehr said.
Baehr is leading the lawsuit against The Michaels Organization, the contractor managing housing on MacDill — the headquarters for U.S. Central Command.
“The judge issued a ruling for us just yesterday. That said that we can bring all these claims at once. That’s incredibly important. Because this is not about any one individual family. This is about a landlord that is turning a blind eye to toxic exposure and making people sick,” Baehr told the Tampa Bay 28 I-Team.
Families involved in the lawsuit describe serious health consequences they say developed after moving into base housing.
One service member said his daughter “coughed, consistently, for the last 2 to 3 years.”
“I moved in here and 5 months later, I started having the worst health problems I’ve ever had in my life,” another service member told the I-Team.
Another described losing strength and function while living in the home.
“I started my medical retirement. I got sick out of nowhere, I didn’t have any strength in my hands, everything was falling out of my hands, and I was like unable to, kind of like, undress — my shirt or even brush my teeth,” the service member said.
Another resident, Brandy Pletcher, described the toll on her respiratory health.
“This is my portable oxygen machine,” she said. “I have ‘chronic respiratory failure with hypoxia’.”
Her husband, Zachary Pletcher, described neurological symptoms that worsened over time.
“If I hold up my arm, I’ve got massive tremors,” Zach showed the I-Team.
“I have what they call neurological function disorder. And the weakness and the tremors got greater and my body got weaker as we stayed in the house,” he said.
Baehr said consolidating the cases keeps the focus on the broader issue.
“It allows us to keep focused on what matters, which is the systemic failure of Michaels to address the underlying problems that are making people sick. That’s what the case is about,” Baehr said.
“We represent over 402 individual people at MacDill Air Force Base who have been poisoned by Michaels. Over 402. That’s 93 families,” she said.
Baehr said the lawsuit is about more than financial compensation.
“It’s about sending a message that we can’t treat our people this way. Families have the right to expect safe housing. They have the right to expect safe air, and we need to give them safe housing and safe air so that they can in turn go out and protect all of us,” Baehr said.
The Michaels Organization Statement
“We take pride in our rigorous processes and oversight that help ensure the maintenance and repair operations of our homes are lawful, safe, and consistent with our commitment to residents. While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we take all residents’ concerns very seriously. Our priority has always been and continues to be the well-being of our Harbor Bay residents, staff, and community.”
Read the article in Tampa Bay 28.
