Home inspector is fined, forced from state board

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Home inspector is fined, forced from state board

By Raphael , Globe Staff | August 16, 2005

The former chairman of the state Board of Registration of Home Inspectors has

been forced off the board and ordered to pay nearly $15,000 in fines and

restitution after his firm faced multiple complaints that its inspectors had

missed major problems requiring expensive repairs.

C. Simpson, whose Wakefield-based Black Paw Home Inspection Inc. is one

of the largest in Massachusetts, signed a consent order last week with the board

that requires him to pay a $7,500 fine and $7,300 in restitution to three of the

11 homeowners who reported slipshod inspections. Simpson's license was also put

on two years' probation.

Simpson defended his company's work in an interview yesterday, saying the

complaints against him and his inspectors constituted a tiny percentage of the

tens of thousands of inspections Black Paw has conducted.

Simpson, who served as chairman of the home inspectors board from 2001 until

last year, also said he suspects he was a political scapegoat because he was one

of 27 people appointed to positions by Acting Governor Jane Swift on her last

day in office whom Governor Mitt Romney subsequently tried unsuccessfully to

unseat.

''I feel like I had a target on my back, because I was seen as a Swift person, "

Simpson said.

In one of the inspections cited in the case, Simpson's inspector failed to spot

badly rotted eaves in an East Boston house. In another, an inspector missed a

leaky dishwasher that had rotted the kitchen floor of a Chestnut Hill house.

Another complaint involved a termite infestation in a Hyannis garage.

In each of the inspections, according to the consent decree, Simpson's company

had issued paperwork that attempted to limit the firm's financial liability in

the event that the inspector made errors or omissions, a violation of state law.

The penalties levied against Simpson are the largest ever meted out by the state

against a home inspector, officials said.

Simpson said he signed the consent order to end what had become a lengthy and

expensive legal battle that has already gutted his firm.

''They just wore me down, " he said. ''Has the company made mistakes before? Yes.

I've given money to people who, over the last 10 years, were the victims of a

mistake. But I'm not going to pay people where we didn't do anything wrong. I

need to stand up and back up my people. "

Anne L. -- director of the state Division of Professional Licensure,

which oversees the board -- said the Simpson case sends a message that consumers

can expect the state to protect their interests, even if they complain about the

chairman of a state board.

''I think this points out the fact that even the chairman of the board is

subject to its supervision and that the protections that were intended by the

law are being enforced, " said.

According to , Simpson's firm had more complaints lodged against it than

any other company since the creation of the home inspectors' board six years

ago.

All told, 26 of the state's 561 licensed home inspectors in Massachusetts face

multiple complaints from homebuyers, said. None of the other members of

the five-person board face complaints against them, she said.

''The fine was intended to send the message of disapproval, and the restitution

was to make consumers whole, " said. ''He can continue to practice, but

the public can form its decisions based on the actions of the board. "

Tony O'Dea, one of the three homeowners who will receive financial restitution

under the consent order, said he was pleased to be receiving money for his

troubles.

Since purchasing a two-family house in Taunton four years ago after a Black Paw

inspection, O'Dea said he has uncovered multiple issues that should have been

detected, including a pipe so corroded that it disintegrated and spewed sewage

into the basement and a porch roof so flimsy that it blew off in sheets during a

rainstorm.

''These were not cosmetic, but health and safety issues, " said O'Dea, who will

receive $4,325 under the agreement.

Simpson's defenders, including Lavergne, a former member of the Board of

Home Inspectors, say his case was marred by irregularities and that Simpson

should never have been penalized for any allegedly poor work by his employees.

In an affidavit filed in the case, Lavergne said he regretted voting in

September 2003 to prosecute the matter, a vote that ultimately led to this

month's consent order. ''Had I known then what I know today, I would not have

voted to refer the cases to prosecution, " Lavergne wrote.

Simpson's troubles may not end with the consent order. An East Boston homeowner

who contends her Black Paw inspection fell woefully short refused to take part

in the settlement struck last week, and is pursuing her case against the firm in

court.

Simpson, defending himself against critics, also faxed out a letter to the Globe

yesterday showing a supporter in state government: Romney himself.

Dated Aug. 11, just after Simpson agreed to leave the board because of the

violations, Romney wrote, ''I thank you for the contributions you have made

during your tenure, and I am sure that you will be greatly missed. It is through

the efforts of public service-minded individuals like you that our great

Commonwealth continues to grow and prosper. "

Raphael can be reached at rlewis@....

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