Tuesday, April 28, 2009 | 12:14 p.m.
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Richmond American Homes has reached a second settlement in a plumbing defect lawsuit in which the home builder will pay about $16 million to replumb 2,400 homes.
District Court Judge Timothy Williams granted a preliminary settlement today and set a fairness hearing for June 22.
Richmond American settled in March 2008 to replumb approximately 1,150 homes for more than $10.2 million. More than half of those homes have been replumbed already.
Kitec-brand plumbing systems were installed in thousands of homes throughout the valley between 1995 and 2006. The brass fittings used in the system corrode, causing pipes to clog and possibly break.
Attorneys representing homeowners in the class-action lawsuit said they've reached preliminary settlements with 13 additional builders, most of which have a few hundred affected homes in the valley or less.
"We have continued to reach settlements, which contemplate that the homeowners will receive a replumb of the defective Kitec plumbing in their homes at no cost to them," said Bill Coulthard, of the firm Kemp, Jones and Coulthard.
Deals were reached with Signature Homes and its parent company, Plaster Development, to pay $4.87 million for 1,078 homes; Astoria, $2.6 million for 540 homes; Developers of Nevada, $1.2 million for 283 homes; Westmark for 131 homes; and Concordia, $824,000 for 112 homes.
Those agreements are pending judicial approval at a fairness hearing, which has not been set.
IPEX, the maker of Kitec, settled its claims for $90 million and Del Webb and Coventry settled for $27.2 million encompassing 6,617 homes.
Homeowners in the affected communities will receive notices in the mail and have the chance to review the terms and support or object to the proposed settlements.
Several builders and plumbing contractors remain in the suit, which is scheduled to go to trial May 18.
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