Letter: Special interests destroy builders

Thursday, April 27, 2000 | 9:15 a.m.

The recent frivolous lawsuits filed against Southern Nevada's homebuilders presents a clear and present threat to the boom of affordable homes on today's market.

The one-on-one construction defect lawsuit filed by an owner against the builder of his or her own home is not the crux of this problem. It's the million-dollar litigation filed by directors of scores of homeowners associations who are coaxed into suing builders by special interests who seek to generate income by planting and then feeding construction-defect anxiety.

This feeding frenzy by a handful of special-interest attorneys will skyrocket the cost of new homes and, quite foreseeably, drive competent builders out of Las Vegas and into greener (and less litigious) pastures. Once again, shoddy homebuilders deserve the lawsuits they get.

But the vast majority of ethical builders should not be threatened by baseless suits, which only harm home buyers. Instead of putting these good guys out of business, the special-interest construction-defect attorneys should go jump in Lake Mead!

KATE DAVIS

Co-founder of Justice for Home and Condo Owners Sacramento

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