Brown Recluse Verdict Went Unpaid

In 2007, a Missouri couple named Brian and Susan Trost bought a $450,000 home in Weldon Spring, only for brown recluse spiders to start "bleeding out of the walls." They sued the previous owners in 2008 for allegedly failing to disclose the infestation. At the 2011 civil trial, a University of Kansas biology professor named Jamel Sandidge estimated that the house contained between 4,500 and 6,000 spiders. A jury awarded the couple $472,110, but they never collected because the previous owners filed for bankruptcy and their insurer refused to pay.

Previous Fact Next Fact