Jury Awards Family $58 Million in Mold/Homebuilder Lawsuit

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Jury awards $58 million to Mansfield couple in home builder lawsuitPosted

Tuesday, Mar. 02, 2010

By Baker

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/03/02/2009758/jury-awards-58-million-to-mansfi\

eld.html

A Mansfield couple's nearly decadelong legal battle with their home

builder, Homes, and a home warranty company took another step

toward closure Monday when a Tarrant County jury awarded them $58

million in damages.

But on Tuesday, Bob and Jane Cull say, they woke up like it was any other day.

Jane

Cull went to her job at a hospital company, and Bob Cull, who is

retired, said he started tending to some personal business that had

been put off for several months as their case came to trial. They also

realize that their lawsuit, which has been arbitrated, been appealed

and twice gone to

the Texas Supreme Court, still has some hurdles to

clear before they see any money.

" Who knows? " Bob Cull said. " You certainly can't plan on it. We're hopeful. "

Holm, a Homes spokesman, in a statement called the verdict

" jackpot justice " and an abuse of the legal system. Homes offered

to buy the home back at full price, he said.

The verdict, Holm said, " is equivalent to every single resident in Texas

depositing $2 into the lawyer's bank account. "

Homes may appeal the decision, he said.

Van Shaw, the couple's attorney, said justice was served.

" I thought it was a fair verdict, " he said.

Bob Cull describes the couple's legal fight as an " odyssey. "

The

Culls filed suit in December 2000 in an attempt to get Homes to

fix structural and foundation problems that started shortly after they

moved into their 2,900-square-foot, four-bedroom house near Walnut

Creek Country Club in 1996.

The case became politically charged

as it moved through the judicial process. Homes is owned by Bob

, who has contributed heavily to judicial candidates and political

action committees in Texas.

Warranty Underwriters Insurance Co. in Houston is also a defendant.

" It became more of a mission and less about the home, " Cull said. " We're still

in that battle. "

Problems, then arbitration

The

house, which the Culls bought for nearly $234,000, is the only new home

they have ever lived in. They bought it for their retirement, moving

after 25 years from an 1,800-square-foot home in Arlington where they

raised their three children.

The couple moved into the house in

October 1996, and the problems became apparent by the next January.

Cull said Tuesday that at the time, their Homes representative

said the house was just settling.

" We trusted him, " Cull said.

The

cracks, though, kept appearing in their walls, and doors and windows

jammed shut. They also discovered that a drainpipe that was punctured

during construction had soaked a kitchen wall, requiring them to move

out for several months while mold was removed.

After initially

filing their lawsuit in court, the couple in late 2001 asked a judge to

instead submit their case to arbitration, which was done. Homes

appealed the switch, but lost. In 2002, an arbitrator awarded the

couple $800,255.

Homes appealed the award to the Texas

Supreme Court. In 2008, the court vacated that award in a 5-4 decision,

citing legal issues with the way the case was switched from the courts

to arbitration, and sent it back to the trial court.

That trial began Feb. 3 in state district court in Tarrant County.

Several dozen witnesses testified, and the jury deliberated Friday and

Monday before reaching its verdict. The judge still needs to approve

the jury verdict.

The

Culls were awarded $7.1 million in actual damages and $40 million in

punitive damages against Homes. The jury also awarded $7.1

million in actual damages and $4 million in punitive damages against

Warranty Underwriters.

Consumer groups applaud

The jury's decision was praised by Texas consumer groups.

"

thought he could simply wear out the Culls by dragging them through

appeal after appeal, " wrote Winslow, executive director of Texas

Watch.

" He underestimated the resolve of individuals who know

their cause is right and just, " Winslow said. " The jury's decision

sends a clear message that the influence of [political action

committee] contributions and high-dollar lobbyists have not yet crept

into the jury box. "

Janet Ahmad, president of HomeOwners for Better Building, based in San ,

said the Culls have been vindicated.

" Until

Texas lawmakers pass legislation to regulate and license the building

industry, powerful tycoons like Bob have no incentive to build

homes right the first time or treat their customer with respect or

stand behind the homes they build, " she said in a prepared statement.

Repairs still needed

The

Culls have never moved from the house, even though the structural

problems have never been addressed and the foundation still moves, Bob

Cull said. He said he and his wife have the resources only to patch and

paint over the cracks.

But he said they don't want others to go through what they have, and they have

no plans to back down now.

" We're not going away, " he said. " You just have to have that gritty resolve. "