A former CedarBridge Academy teacher suing the Ministry of Education and the school’s board of governors over her mould-related ill health has lost part of her case.Puisne Judge Ian Kawaley struck out a claim by Wendy Robinson that the Ministry failed to provide her with a safe place of work under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1982.Mrs Robinson worked at the Island’s largest public school for 16 years, until August 2005.She flagged up her fears about mould to principal Kalmar Richards in September 2004 after suffering serious problems with her sinuses and collapsing at work.Mrs Robinson, who taught interior decorating, child development, food and nutrition and textile design, had to retire on medical grounds and has since spent thousands of dollars on expensive medical care.But the judge found on April 4 that the Ministry only became liable in civil law under the Act for providing a safe place of employment in October 2009, when non-retroactive regulations came into effect.Mr Kawaley said: “It is plain and obvious that no civil cause of action exists for breach of section three of the Act.“That portion of the plaintiff’s claim, which relies on an alleged breach by the first defendant of civil law duties arising under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1982, is struck out, on the grounds that it discloses no reasonable cause of action.”Mrs Robinson, the first teacher to raise the alarm about the toxic environment at the Devonshire senior school, is still expected to pursue a claim for negligence under common law.Mr Kawaley said his finding was “of course, entirely without prejudice” to that claim.CedarBridge was closed for a clean-up of mould in November 2006 and an inquiry later found that one student almost died and at least 13 others suffered sickness “very probably” caused by the environment, as well as an unknown number of staff.A Ministry of Education spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment. Neither Mrs Robinson nor her lawyer Victoria Pearman could be reached.l Useful website: www.moed.bm.