Homeowner sues builder over alleged mold problem

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Homeowner sues builder over alleged mold problem

By KATHRYN HELMKE, kehelmke@...

July 24, 2005

Naples,Fl

http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_3949584

,00.html

Naples homeowner Larry Manierre did the unthinkable in late May.

He had his 5-year-old, $4-million house torn down. The problem, he

says, was mold — everywhere.

Manierre is suing the home builder, Continental Construction,

accusing the company of building a faulty second-floor deck that

allowed water to pour into the home, saturating the walls, floors

and ceilings with mold.

Manierre contracted with the Naples builder in 1997 to build his

5,000-square-foot home in Little Harbour, a community adjacent to

Port Royal and Gordon Drive.

Continental denies all allegations, blaming problems on Manierre and

a contractor who worked on the home less than a year after the

original construction was completed, according to court documents.

Company lawyers Cheffy and Dudley Goodlette said in a

statement to the Daily News that their investigations have shown

that the contractor subsequently hired to do the renovations worked

for Vintage Builders, a start-up company of which Manierre is an

investor.

But Manierre said Vintage Builders never did any faulty

construction. He said he had problems with the original construction

immediately after moving into the home on Little Harbour Lane in the

fall of 1999, months before Vintage began the $250,000 renovation.

The French doors had no caulking and no sealant protecting them, he

said. Nothing stopped water from entering the originally constructed

home.

The living and family room ceilings were replaced within months of

moving in, and the deck was rebuilt after a year.

Continental Construction thought it had addressed a water leak

problem before the house was completed, said Jeff Cecil, the

company's vice president of construction, in an affidavit. But in

late 2000, the company replaced the deck at its expense.

Two years later, Manierre said he called Continental back to the

house to look at a large amount of water that had collected in an

elevator shaft.

" At no time during our meeting in December 2002 did Mr. Manierre

make any accusations against Continental or suggest that we had done

anything wrong; in fact, he told us he knew that the problems were

not ours (Continental's), and he thanked us for coming to his

house, " Cecil said in his affidavit.

According to that same affidavit, Manierre said the leaks were the

result of another contractor's work.

That's not true, Manierre said, because the water leaks were nowhere

near the garage renovation at the front of the home.

At one point, some improper flashing on the roof's front-end and

some holes in the tar were one theory behind the leaks, Manierre

said during a July 1 deposition. But no water damage was found

there.

During that deposition, Cheffy said two of the experts that looked

at the house said there was water intrusion in that area.

But Manierre said other experts found no water entering from there.

The water, wherever it came from, proved to be too big a problem.

Three years after moving in, Manierre, his wife, Jacinta, and their

two young children moved out. They now own another home in Old

Naples.

The whole house had to be torn down because it would cost more to

repair it than to demolish it and start over, Manierre said.

" You don't normally knock down a $4-million house, " he said. " You

don't tear down a 5-year-old house. "

Water came down through the walls, through the air conditioner vents

and through the light fixtures, he said. The baseboards began to

separate from the wall, and the hardwood floors began to buckle.

Three-hundred gallons of water were found at the bottom of the

unused elevator shaft, Manierre said.

When looking for the mold, numerous Tupperware containers were found

screwed into the house and drywalled over — so they weren't just

left in there, Manierre said.

Continental Construction must have known there was a leak, he said,

contending that makes the case even more serious.

Manierre wants Collier Circuit Judge Ted Brousseau to allow him to

add a punitive, or criminal, portion to his civil lawsuit.

But a former Continental worker said in an affidavit that the

Tupperware containers were placed up there temporarily to stop leaks

from harming the home's floors and to ascertain if the leaks had

been stopped.

The containers were accidentally left there, he said.

" Mr. Manierre's claim makes no sense because if we had known that

the leak was ongoing, we would have also known that the leaking

water would overflow the Tupperware containers, " employee Craig

Milbourn said in his affidavit.

Continental is now suing a number of the subcontractors, a

contractor who tried to repair the home and deck, and the remodeler

Manierre hired to turn one of his three garages into a bedroom for

his son, .

In case the company is held responsible, Continental wants to be

able to recover money from the subcontractors it blames for any

problems, according to court filings.

" Continental Construction builds quality homes and stands behind its

work, " the statement from Cheffy and Goodlette said.

And Manierre is standing by his empty lot, while it's determined who

is at fault.