Melinda Ballard
Melinda Ballard (1958–2013) was a financial executive and activist for insurance policyholders in America. In 1999, she sued her insurer over mold damage in her 22-room family home in Dripping Springs, Texas. The family seemed to be living the perfect life when suddenly their 3-year-old son, Reese Allison, developed a respiratory condition in March 1999. Her husband Ron Allison, is later shown to have signs of Alzheimer's disease. On April 1, 1999 after the start of Ron and Reese‘s symptoms, Melinda takes a Southwest Airlines flight and becomes ill, coughing up blood. An air  quality expert and investigator named Bill Holder who was sitting in the adjacent seat, asked if there was a leak in their home which she confirmed. He speculates that their ill health could be due to a toxic form of black mold in their 12,000 square foot home, which was based on the movie version of "Tara", the home of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. Their case started as a single claim for water damage and turned into a case about mold contamination in the entire house. They were one of the first cases to highlight the dangerous  results of toxic mold and changed how normal indoor mold was viewed in America. She and her husband, Ron Allison, were awarded $32 million in 2001 as a result of a lawsuit against Farmers Insurance for mold damage. The award was later reduced to $4 million on appeal. As a result of her case and the attention she received, Ballard founded Policyholders of America, a consumer advocate group and homeowner’s insurance information clearinghouse. In 2013, Ballard died at the age of 55.