Retirees fighting home builder to pay for fixes

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November 29, 2005

Mold battle continues

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Retirees fighting home builder to pay for fixes

BY JEFF SCHWEERS

FLORIDA TODAY

Not really home. Barbara and Sadala stand in their mold-

infested home in Palm Shores. The Sadalas filed suit against Maronda

Homes in February 2004, claiming breach of contract for not meeting

standard construction practices. Rik , FLORIDA TODAY

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PALM SHORES - The drywall has been removed, the insulation torn out

and left in piles on the tile floor. Lamps sit on the living room

and bedroom floors, along with remnants of their former lives: Bed

frames, a bed, an end table, a chair. Piles of clothes. A TV set.

Everything they had to leave behind when the house was condemned.

This is what's left of Barbara and Sadala's dream: A mess.

" We couldn't take half the stuff because it's moldy, " Barbara Sadala

said as she walked through her old home.

After 10 minutes the mold gets to her. Her voice is raspy. " I'm

allergic. "

Two years after mold forced them out of their Honeybrook Plantation

home in the cul-de-sac of Oak Creek Circle, the Sadalas still are

battling their builder over who's to blame for the wreck.

It hasn't been cheap. At 75, they've had to come out of retirement.

One daughter has so far paid the $19,000 in legal bills, but they've

had to pay the mortgage on a house they can't live in and $1,500 a

month for a rented house the past two years.

" I'm 75 and kicked out of my house. My husband is 75. How much more

can two people take? " she said.

Maronda, the home's builder, has refused to pay for repairs, saying

the Sadalas are responsible for the damage. A letter from Division

Manager Lanciano held the Sadalas responsible for the mold.

He said they drilled holes in the outer walls, messed with the

flashing, didn't caulk the windows when they first moved in and

didn't operate the lawn sprinklers properly.

" All those things are factually true, " said Gavin Mackinnon, one of

the attorneys representing Maronda in the lawsuit. " The issue of

causation of the mold is disputed. "

Maronda has a proven track record of building quality homes,

Mackinnon said. To comment further would be improper because they're

in litigation, he added, " other than we're denying their claims. "

The Sadalas claim it's Maronda's fault. The Sadalas' engineers

inspected the house in October, concluding that Maronda assembled

the house incorrectly, which allowed water to get into the walls. A

40-page report by Advantek Consulting Inc., complete with diagrams

and photos of rotting, moldy wood contends the builder:

incorrectly installed the windows, letting water between the walls

didn't apply stucco properly, allowing water to pass through the

stucco around the windows

improperly installed flashing along the roof edges, letting water

penetrate the stucco.

The Sadalas blame the city's building inspector for signing off on a

house that had so many construction defects.

" The insurance company offered us zero because they were latent

defects, " she said. " We didn't know about the defects because they

were hidden. It should have never passed inspection. "

Palm Shores Mayor Carol McCormack said she and the current building

inspectors were not around when the house was originally built and

inspected, and to comment further wouldn't be appropriate for her

because the case is in litigation.

A copy of the inspection report was not available.

The house was built in 1994. They bought it new for $114,500.

They became aware of their roof leaking in 2001.

The city building official condemned the house in November of 2003

because of the mold, forcing the Sadalas to move out.

The Sadalas filed suit in February of 2004, claiming breach of

contract for not meeting standard construction practices that caused

the mold and made Barbara Sadala physically ill. They are seeking

more than $15,000 for their pain and suffering. They say their case

is good because of all the construction defects their engineers have

documented. Herbert , their lawyer, did not return several

calls.

Their home is a neglected wreck. They have yellow police tape

wrapped around the house to keep people out.

But vandals still break in and trash the place. They've ripped the

screened pool enclosure, algae scum floats in the remaining water of

the pool. Black mold covers the deck. Multi-colored funoodles of

purple, orange, yellow and blue lay abandoned in the ooze.

Sadala sighs.

" I just want my house back. I want to live in my retirement home, "

she said. " And I want compensation for all they put me through. "

Contact Schweers at 242-3642 or jschweers@...