Homeowners v Levitt & Sons, LLC
Lawsuit Claims Homebuilder's Work Shoddy
Despite making what it says was $5 million worth of repairs on more than 600 of its Central Florida homes for water damage that occurred last year, Levitt & Sons finds itself at the center of a class action lawsuit.
The damage at issue are allegations that shoddy construction practices caused homes in the community, which range in price from $130,000-$400,000, to leak long before three hurricanes blew through the region last year. The result, say homeowners, is mold -- now wreaking havoc on their lives and property values -- which has yet to be reconized or fixed by Levitt.
The work included replacing drywall, window caulking and flooring; repainting the exterior of homes; and even buying new furniture for some homeowners.
Louis Kingsley, one of the homeowners, claims that shortly after moving into his home on July 5, 2003, he and his wife, Bonnie, claim they noticed water intrusion causing baseboards to separate from walls. The reported the problem to Levitt officials, however they feel the report landed on deaf ears. Then, the 2003 hurricane season rolled around with 3 large hurricanes affecting the central Florida area. The hurricanes made the matters worse for the Kingsleys, who now live with plywood walls covering mold growing in the perimeter walls of their home.
"So far, I've spent more than $2,000 to repair and replace windows," says Louis Kingsley. "I haven't remediated the mold yet because to do it on all four walls will cost in excess of $20,000. All of our furniture has to come out, and we have to be out of the house too."
Substandard stucco found
Levitt is not alone in its water damage related woes. After last year's hurricanes, M/I Homes and Ryland Homes were beseiged with homeowner complaints and threats of lawsuits involving allegations of water intrusion.
But the allegations of leaks prior to the storms set the Levitt case apart from the rest.
According to the legal complaint filed in May, the first reports of water intrusion at Summit
Greens date back to November 2000, but "no effort was made to test for and deal with the problems."
"It is unreasonable to expect a home not to leak in a hurricane, but it is also unreasonable for a home to leak during normal weather conditions," says Joseph Lstiburek, a principal with Boston-based Building Science Corp., who performed the Florida Home Builders Association's study into why so many homes leaked during the 2004 hurricane season.
"The problem is due to either poor design, poor (building) components or poor workmanship." said Lstiburek.
