Boise Area Housing Developer Target Of Class-Action Lawsuit Over Defects, Flooding
Tuesday December 10, 12:25 pm ET
Many homes turned into ‘human-sized petri dishes’
BOISE, Idaho, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ — A group of homeowners yesterday filed a proposed class action lawsuit, claiming that more than 127 homes built in Boise-area Leo Rosecreek subdivision are so riddled with construction defects that many of the dwellings are uninhabitable.
Filed in Idaho District Court, the suit states that Hubble Homes — formerly known as Cherry Lane Homes — and Hubble Engineering overlooked or ignored obvious drainage issues with the building site, which has left the homeowners with crawlspaces filled with stagnant water prompting mold and fungus growth throughout the structures, as well as damaging the homes’ structural stability.
If approved as a class action, the suit would represent at least 50 homeowners, whose losses range from $50,000 to more than $200,000 each, pegging total losses as high as $10 million. Under Idaho law, the plaintiffs have the option to ask the court for punitive damages as well.
"Many of the homeowners have been fighting to get Hubble to fix these horribly flawed conditions," said Steve Berman, the attorney representing the plaintiffs. "The builders have turned a deaf ear to the homeowners, leaving them with this lawsuit as the path of last resort.
"We intend to show that the defendants knew there was a groundwater issue with the development area but ignored the issues," Berman added. "Further, we will introduce evidence that Hubble continued to tout new homes to buyers even when complaints regarding the groundwater were flooding in."
According to the complaint, Hubble Engineering began developing the lots within Leo Rosecreek 18 months before the final plat map was approved by Ada County, or the City of Boise. Cherry Creek Homes began selling lot in the development on June 15, 1998.
Berman added that in some cases, the stagnant water and flooding was so severe that the homeowners have moved from their homes. "The damage is so profound that the residents are concerned with the health and well-being of their family and have literally packed up and moved out."
"These people concluded it is better to move out than live in a human- sized petri dish full of fungus and mold," Berman added.
The proposed class action, once approved, would include every purchaser of real estate within the Leo Rosecreek Subdivision No. 1 and 2, from June 15, 1998 to the present or those who purchased property from Hubble Homes within those subdivisions. The suit cites violations of the Idaho Consumer Protection Act, breach of implied warranty and habitability, breach of expressed warranty, breach of contract, negligence, misfeasance and nuisance among other charges.
