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Friday, April 3, 2009 | 5:35 p.m.
Sun Archives
- Foes under defects law unite to push for its change (3-24-2009)
- Four homebuilders settle in plumbing lawsuit (3-18-2009)
- Judge orders settlement talks in plumbing defect case (3-4-2009)
- Plumbing problems may continue to grow (2-23-2009)
- Judge approves $90 million faulty plumbing settlement (2-2-2009)
- Pipe work begins in homes involved in Kitec lawsuit (1-22-2009)
- Judge releases 322 homeowners from class-action plumbing lawsuit (12-15-2008)
- Couple hopes company will take action against faulty pipes (12-4-2008)
- Del Webb to pay $27.2 million in faulty plumbing lawsuit (12-3-2008)
- Tentative settlement reached in defective plumbing lawsuit (10-24-2008)
- Kitec maker agrees to pay $90 million over pipes (9-6-2008)
- As justice’s wheels grind, frustration over failure-prone plumbing grows (3-23-2008)
A judge on Friday sanctioned a $27.2 million settlement from Del Webb Communities and its Coventry Homes subsidiary in a class-action lawsuit regarding faulty plumbing.
District Court Judge Timothy Williams' approval finalizes the preliminary settlement the two builders agreed to in November and provides partial compensation to replace Kitec plumbing systems in 6,617 homes in the valley built by Del Webb or Coventry.
The settlement would cover about 75 percent of the total costs, said Bill Coulthard, whose firm Harrison, Kemp, Jones and Coulthard represents the thousands of valley owners whose houses were built with the Kitec system since 1995.
The difference would be made up from Del Webb's portion of the already approved $90 million settlement from Kitec-maker IPEX.
The settlement also provides at least partial reimbursements to homeowners who paid out-of-pocket to replumb rather than waiting for the court action to be resolved, Coulthard said.
The suit continues to seek damages from about 30 other builders and about 10 plumbers who installed Kitec as subcontractors. Coulthard said his firm is in talks with several of the builders in an attempt to avoid going to trial in May.
"We're hopeful that we can reach resolutions with other homebuilders who want to do the right thing," he said. "And for those who don't, we'll see them in trial."
The focus of the lawsuit is on the brass fittings in the plumbing system. The fittings corrode, causing the zinc in the brass to build up in the pipes. The buildup could restrict water flow and eventually cause breaks.
IPEX issued a recall on the brass fittings in 2005. The company denies liability and has claimed that Southern Nevada's mineral-rich water is to blame for failures because the fixtures don't have the same problem elsewhere.
Del Webb's parent company Pulte already paid $21 million to compensate about 2,700 of its Sun City Anthem owners, said Pulte spokeswoman Jacque Petroulakis.
The company offered the owners $7,800 to replumb their homes and required them to sign a form releasing the company from any future plumbing problems. Residents who signed the form also assigned their rights in the class action suit to the company.
"Pulte was the first and only homebuilder to make an offer of compensation directly to its homeowners. A majority of homeowners have already made the repairs and received their money," she said.
There's still a chance the IPEX settlement could be appealed, which would delay the replumbing work for Del Webb and Coventry owners, Coulthard said. The best-case scenario is work starting in six months. In the event of an appeal, work could be delayed two years, he said.
"The timing of the commencement of the replumb is tied to the IPEX settlement," Coulthard said. "If that IPEX settlement is appealed and the IPEX money is tied up, then we'll likely hold off on replumbing."
The money collected in the class-action suit will compensate contractors who perform the replumbs. Homeowners won't receive the money directly, unlike those who took Pulte's early offer.
Del Webb and Coventry are the second and third builders to settle after Richmond American Homes. Pulte and its PNII subsidiary remain in the suit.
Thats what happens when lobbiests get next to legislators. Homeowners lose. Thanks Hardy,Schneider and Townsend. Who pays the other 25% to fix these homes that innocent people purchased after you lined your pockets with contactor donations? And to think these guys want to make it harder to take a contactor to court.
THE INDUSTRIES DIRTY LITTLE SECRET IS NOW OUT FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE....
Del Webb was one of two builders who took the opportunity to solve the Kitec issue under a Chapter 40 process without a full blown lawsuit. But unfortunately it was only in their Sun City project.
The questions is why didn't builders solve this problem without litigation, under the Chapter 40 process and save legal expenses on both sides of the fence?
Maybe, because insurance companies are not required to participate in a Chapter 40 claim and therefore builders cannot go after their deep pockets of money. But, if the builders let these problems go to a lawsuit, the builders lawyers can sue the subcontractors and the subcontractors insurance carriers.
This is the industries dirty little secret ... and that is that builders want to cross sue all their subcontractor partners and their insurance carriers without regards to who is really liable for the problem.
I suppose everyone knows that the homeowners or their attorney's do not sue subcontracts ... but builders cross sue all of their subcontracts who worked for them on a job even when the builder knows that some of those subcontractors have no liability in the cause of action (e.i Kitec)
Now wouldn't you agree that this cross suing contractors to gain money from subcontractors who had no liability with the problem is the only frivolous and legal thuggery in the new home construction industry?
And this practice has nothing to do with homeowners or plaintiffs attorneys but builders cheating their own "trade partners."
But, subcontractors and builders will not change this immoral and unscrupulous practice ... instead they will try an limit homeowners rights...
Homeowners should be aware that more of their rights are being attacked by home builders....in this session ...
Simple Solution:
Homeowner finds an issue.
Homeowner calls Nevada State Contractors Board (Not a Lawyer or So Called Expert). Contractors Board authority extended to match Staute of Repose and Statue of Limitations.
Nevada State Contractors Board (true neutral expert) inspection takes place and State determines if an issue with Builder, Subcontractor and Homeowner present is valid.
Contractors Board advises Builder/Subcontractor to make repair or no repair for Homeowner.
(Issue bigger than Contractors Board i.e.- Settling, Structural, Slab, Roof etc. advises homeowner to get an Attorney. No need for extra fees as a real Attorney and real Construction Experts will jump at the chance.) Brings in only the true parties at that time. No Extra Fees or Costs it's all settled by the true cost of the issue.
Builder/Subcontractor make the repair and Nevada State Contractors Board approves HO should be happy if not they can still sue. No Extra Incentive of Fees and Costs for Law Firm. Keeps everyone's hands in their own pockets.
Builder/Subcontractor does not fix Nevada State Contractors Board takes away their license and puts them out of business. Believe me it will get the issues fixed. No need for Attorney or Construction Expert as 90%+ of all true items will be repaired.
Remember no matter whom builds something, we are all humans. Human hands with manmade products will never be perfect.
All true rights are preserved for the Homeowner, all good businesses stay in business, 90% of true issues fixed (no more frivolous issues), Homeowner saved the long wasteful process of Chapter 40, Chapter 40 not needed thus saving the State's legal system tons of wasted money on CD Claims, real attorneys will have plenty of work in itself and the Homeowner the true issue will be much happier!!!
Forget the Chapter 40 process all of you as we all know it is Driven By the Money!
It's all about the MONEY and nothing to do with the Homeowner.
"The Kitec issue is not the fault of the Builder or Subcontractor but about a product. Its bigger than that of the Nevada State Contractors Board and needs the courts to settle. What's not truly fair is the Builder and the Subcontractor are left holding the bag. Kitec was used all over the US and it seems the fittings corrode in our very nasty water. Product Liability issue and we all know it."
Stop all the non-sense in these Blogs.
LV1Team it seems you are on the right track, I believe the Nevada State Contractors Board should have a larger role. But I believe that Chapter 40 helps solve these problems, and should be used before one files claims with the Nevada State Contractors Board.
Some mistakes by contractors are mistakes of omission not commission. These mistakes can be fixed by honest contractors and builders. If not then the Nevada State Contractors Board should be called into the feud; And have the power to fine the contractors or remove their licenses. There is a criminal penalty for anyone who files a false claim with the Nevada State Contractors Board, so people do not file frivolous claims.
Do you really expect the NSCB to examine 50,000 homes with Kitec problems? It would take 200 inspectors one year to examine all these homes. Who would pay for these inspectors? And what would you do with them once this problems is over? Keep on paying them until the next problem? Where would we find these 200 inspectors?
Solutions to problems need to be thought out completely before we institute them. Your ideas have merit, but fail to be the answer...sorry
The right to repair is the law.. and contractor should not be afraid of 'experts' unless they are hiding something. Blaming experts who expose code violations to homeowner is like speeders blaming the highway patrolman for the ticket.
Here is the easy solution... build it right and you won't get sued..
FYI... contractors new that the product called Kitec should not have been used in Clark County because of the water.. but they used it anyway... so yes, contractors are and were part of the problem.
At least the manufacture has agreed to pay 90 million to help solve the problem and yet the builders and subcontractors have failed to even step up to the plate and meet this amount of money to help the homeowners.
Individual homeowners will not receive enough money to fix this problem and builders will blame plaintiffs lawyers for taking part of the homeowners money (keep in mind the builders could have solved this through Chapter 40 and saved all those expenses, but instead they used their legal teams to fight homeowners and sue their subcontractors. ...and the funds that homeowners do receive would never had been there if plaintiff's lawyers were not brought into help the homeowners)... builders and subcontractors will not talk about how much money they pay their own lawyers to hide and delay the problem for five years.
There were contractors who refused to use this product because they feared the potential liability. [there were approximately 150,000 homes built during the time Kitec was used in Clark County and only 50,000 of those homes used Kitec] Those who wanted to increase their profits and did not care about potential problems, now want you to believe it was not their fault. Nonsense.... a contractor should have liability for products that he endorses and use on his jobs..