4/12/03

Los Angeles, CA - Former "Tonight Show" sidekick Ed McMahon settled a lawsuit against the last of several defendants he sued for toxic mold that allegedly sickened him and his wife, killed his pet and made his Beverly Hills mansion unlivable.

McMahon, 80, agreed to accept $230,000 to resolve the dispute, court documents revealed Monday. He'd sued American Equity Insurance Co., two insurance adjusters and several cleanup contractors for $20 million last year, stating his 8,000-square-foot mansion was ruined.  This somewhat demonstrates that McMahon did not do this for the money, rather for the fact that he felt wronged and a victim of malfeasance.

The other defendants made settlements over the past few months. The settlement reached Friday was paid by Controlled Environmental Solutions.

McMahon had no other alternative but to file a lawsuit in April 2002 claiming that a plumbing pipe in his home ruptured in July 2001, flooding his den. The company he hired to clean the mess, Alliance Environmental Group, allegedly painted over the stachybotrus chartarum, and didn't tell him about the mold.

Soon afterward, McMahon claimed he and his wife got sick and their sheepdog, Muffin, developed respiratory illness and died. The couple moved _ per doctor's orders _ in September 2001, and rented another home. Black mold later was found in McMahon's master bedroom.