Homeowners allege construction defects in lawsuits

Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 | 10:48 a.m.

Homeowners at three developments in Summerlin and Silverado have filed lawsuits alleging their properties need to be repaired because of construction defects.

Lewis Homes of Nevada and KB Home Nevada were sued this month in Clark County District Court by 17 homeowners alleging defects in their homes in the Napa Hills by Lewis Homes and Sonoma Hills by Lewis Homes development near the Las Vegas Beltway and Far Hills Avenue in Summerlin.

The plaintiffs, represented by attorneys with the Las Vegas law firm Shinnick, Ryan & Ransavage, are seeking class-action status for the lawsuit involving the development they say consists of 439 homes.

The lawsuit says Lewis Homes/KB Home have maintained there are no defects, but nevertheless have performed some repairs that the defendants say have not been adequate to solve the problems. The homeowners claim to have problems with roofs, water and dirt entering through windows, bugs and water entering through their foundations and cracked stucco and drywall.

Officials at KB Home had no immediate comment on the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages to cover repairs and for an alleged decline in the value of the homes.

Separately, two owners of property in The Huntington development are seeking class-action status for their lawsuit against Del Webb’s Coventry Homes of Nevada.

The suit says the plaintiffs’ properties in the Silverado development, which has 242 homes, also have problems with roofs and have leaking windows, dirt coming through windows, cracks in drywall, cracks and stains in stucco and water and insects intruding through foundation slabs.

Plaintiffs Edith and Loren Johnston are also represented by attorneys with the firm Shinnick, Ryan & Ransavage. The suit says Del Webb has asserted that the homes have no defects and that any repairs it performed were successful in solving problems. The homeowners disagree and claim the alleged defects have not been corrected.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages for the cost of repairs and the alleged loss of market value the homes have sustained.

The development is near Bermuda Road and Silverado Ranch Boulevard. A spokeswoman for Pulte Homes Inc., owner of Del Webb, said the builder had not yet been served with the suit and had no other immediate comment.

Separately, two owners of homes in the area of Pebble Road and Maryland Parkway in Silverado sued William Lyon Homes alleging problems with their roofs, eaves, stucco, concrete flatwork; heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; and drywall.

The suit, filed by attorneys with the firm Angius & Terry, alleges the builder’s attempts to correct the alleged deficiencies failed to do so.

The properties named in the complaint are owned by James Larocca on Labine Street and Constance Larocca on Newcombe Street.

Their suit seeks damages to cover the cost of repairs and the alleged loss of value the homes have sustained.

William Lyon Homes officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Steve Green can be reached at 990-7714 or steve.green@hbcpub.com.

Discussion: 6 comments so far…

By Ed

2/20/09 at 2:13 p.m.

Suggest removal

that's what happens when you hire illegal aliens
By dapperdoog

2/21/09 at 7:06 a.m.

Suggest removal

While I'm sure there is some validity to these defect claims, I'm also sure that there are greedy ambulance chasing attorneys at work here. I have received numerous letters from attorneys asking me to document all kinds of defects in my house. They even include pictures of "possible" problems. I live in an 8 year old house in a 325 home subdivision, and have no complaints. Small cracks in the stucco-that's it. I spoke with several of my neighbors, and they agree that they have few complaints. So what I think is happening is that people who bought their homes for a inflated price from 2003-2008, and are now way underwater are having buyers remorse, and one way to get even is to sue the builder for supposed "serious" defects. I have no use for tract builders, but I also have no use for attorneys who enable questionable claims. May they all lose...
By azsk8fan

2/21/09 at 10:25 a.m.

Suggest removal

Ed, you are absolutely right on the money. It's only after the house is built that the builder is willing to spend money on REAL carpenters, electricians, etc. when they have to come in and fix the mess created by someone who didn't know what the hell they were doing in the first place.
By scouser

2/22/09 at 6:40 a.m.

Suggest removal

I had a Stucco house in Florida. In the hurricanes it leaked like a sieve. I would never buy a house without a brick outer skin.
By Paratrooper

2/22/09 at 10:03 a.m.

Suggest removal

Construction practices are scary here. Shoddy work is almost the norm. I'm retired now, but during my business career I became a general contractor so that I could have control over the construction of my own shops as we expanded. Occasionally I will stop and take a quick look at homes under construction. Some of the things I have seen here are absolutely unbelievable. I am no expert, and only built for myself because it made business sense for me to do so. But the things that I have seen are very apparent and have to be known by the general contractors.

The problem with lots of attorneys is that they don't necessarily want to work for you, they want to be a partner. One thing for sure, regardless of the outcome of the case, they will make money. Some of them are unsurpassed at creating incentive programs for themselves.

Rumor has it that the FBI is investigating kickbacks to some Homeowner Association Management Companies from some construction defects attorneys and the construction companies that do the repairs. It is very rare for the FBI to pursue public corruption cases at this time. The emphasis is on homeland security.

I would think that the media would be all over this but they aren't.
By KB_Investigation

3/13/09 at 3:18 p.m.

Suggest removal

KB Homes might be in even more trouble soon.

It seems as though it may have conspired with Countrywide's appraisal subsidiary, Landsafe, to artificially inflate home prices--leading to unfair home purchase prices and inappropriate mortgages for KB Home owners.

Haven't homeowners suffered enough? Check out this blog post by the lawyer heading up the investigation www.classactionlawtoday.com.