Homeowners sue Lennar over cracks, leaks, mold, other problems

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Homeowners sue Lennar over cracks, leaks, mold, other problems

Monday, Apr 14 2008

Bakersfield Californian - Bakersfield,CA*

By GRETCHEN WENNER, Californian staff writer

e-mail: gwenner@...

http://www.bakersfield.com/137/story/417235.html

From the day they moved into their brand-new northwest Bakersfield

home three years ago, and Marsha Bishop have been dogged by

problems — cracks, leaks, mold and more.

So when a lawyer's letter recently showed up asking if they'd like

to join a lawsuit against builder Lennar Homes, the couple didn't

hesitate. Owners of 88 other nearby homes are also listed on the

complaint.

The lawsuit alleges repairs could cost more than $100,000 per home.

The complaint, first filed in February and updated last week, is one

of several in Kern where a group of homeowners is suing a national

or regional homebuilder in the wake of the recent real estate boom.

Lennar hasn't yet received formal notification of the case, court

records show.

" I don't know anything about it, " said Grumbles, president of

Lennar's Bakersfield division, on Friday. Lennar's local and state

units are named in the complaint.

Ben Llaneta, lead attorney for the homeowners, said Monday Lennar

will get legal notification by mid-week.

The law firm behind the case, Milstein, Adelman & Kreger LLP in

Santa , specializes in construction defect litigation, among

other things. Senior partner Fred Adelman said it is currently the

largest firm in California handling construction defect lawsuits.

FLAWS IN HOMES

Most of the two dozen streets with homes listed in the complaint

wind through the Westlake neighborhood west of Calloway Drive and

south of Snow Road.

The subdivision, near the RiverLakes golf course, was originally a

project of the former Homes, a longtime Bakersfield company.

Lennar, one of the country's largest homebuilders, bought in

2003.

Four roads named in the suit lie further west, near the intersection

of and Reina roads, in the Nottingham and Montelena

neighborhoods.

The subdivisions listed in the suit were built almost entirely in

the last five years.

In the Westlake area, buyers paid between $139,000 to $580,000,

according to records from First American Real Estate Solutions, a

Santa Ana-based firm that tracks property sales nationwide.

The Bishops bought their four-bedroom home on Chinook Falls Drive in

May 2005.

Troubles started immediately, they said.

" You cannot believe the headaches I've had with this house, " Marsha

Bishop said Thursday, the same day an inspector from the law firm

stopped by.

First were the leaky French doors in the master bedroom.

Rain drenched the carpet, leaving mold. A seeping toilet installed

on a tilting floor in the children's bathroom also left mold, the

couple said. The family spent days in a hotel while the house

underwent mold treatment.

Other problems followed — foundation cracks in the garage, wall

cracks, a faulty dishwasher, interior nails popping out, an

irrigation system that flooded sidewalk landscaping.

The sinkhole under the garage was particularly troubling.

" When the dirt's collapsing under your house, it kind of concerns

you, " said Bishop, a 17-year employee of the county. His wife

stays home with the family's five children.

For several months in spring 2006, the Bishops were so frustrated

they hung a banner from the garage warning others not to buy from

Lennar.

STILL LOOKING

The lawsuit claims " faulty soil compaction " is responsible for some

damage to affected homes.

The dirt's movement cracked foundations and walls, the suit alleges.

The complaint alleges defects impacting almost everything in and

around a house — from plumbing to ceramic tiles, drywall to

appliances — resulting from shoddy construction and substandard

components.

Llaneta, the lead attorney, said the faultily compacted soil is a

construction issue rather than something wrong with the dirt under

the houses.

The law firm is currently completing a full investigation of the

sites, Llaneta said.

Even though owners of almost 90 homes are currently listed as

plaintiffs, the case is not a class-action lawsuit, said Adelman,

the law firm's senior partner.

A class-action suit would impact neighborhood homes whether owners

wanted to be included or not, he said, while the existing suit will

only include homeowners who sign on voluntarily.

Streets named in the lawsuit:

Alderbrook Lane

Falls Avenue

wine Falls Avenue

Canyon Falls Lane

Childress Street

Chinook Falls Drive

Columbia Falls Drive

Ferncreek Falls Drive

Galena Falls Court

ville Avenue

Knights Bridge Place

Oneida Falls Drive

Panther Falls Avenue

Pendleton Falls Drive

Pinebrook Falls Drive

Rose River Falls Avenue

Royalston Falls Drive

Savannah Falls Drive

Seneca Falls Avenue

Seven Falls Avenue

Tallulah Falls Court

Trafalgar Square Drive

Falls Avenue

Yosemite Falls Avenue

Editor's Note: This is the first in an occasional series looking at

large group lawsuits filed in Kern against homebuilders.

— Californian staff writer contributed to this

report.