Plaintiffs allege construction defects
November 18, 2001 - Mike and Tracey Schofield, seeking the perfect house for entertaining, paid nearly $300,000 for a UDC home in Gilbert.
Outside, there's a lavish swimming pool and spa on an oversize lot. Inside, nearly 3,000 square feet of space -- and floors and walls that crack, windows that leak and a door they can't close.
The Schofields said they called their builder several times but couldn't get the major problems fixed. They filed a complaint with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, but felt the agency unfairly sided with their builder.
Metro Phoenix's housing boom is as alluring as a gold rush for California lawyers who for years have been dealing in construction-defect cases.
Along with a growing group of Valley attorneys, they are filing defect lawsuits alleging everything from crumbling foundations to the early onset of termite damage.
Depending on whom you ask, the run to court is due either to more construction defects or greedy lawyers with a formula to get money from builders.
"Some of the defect claims are absurd," said Elizabeth Fitch, a Phoenix attorney who has represented builders for 15 years. "One of the suits said the tops of doors were not painted. How can you see the tops of doors?"
Fitch said other suits claimed it took too long for hot water to get to the bathroom, there was paint overspray on light fixtures and trees were too close to the sidewalk.
Home builders vehemently defend their work. They say the construction-defect attorneys file frivolous cases to line their pockets instead of trying to fix problems with the houses.
"These attorneys have run out of things to do in California and have been lured to the Valley by our intense growth," said Connie Wilhelm, executive director of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona.
Homeowners and homeowners associations view the lawsuits as a way to have their dream houses fixed and hold builders accountable for poor work.
All they want, they say, are the homes they were promised.
"If there is nothing wrong, I can't win," said Eric Sachrison, a local attorney who said he has won settlements on 50 home-defect cases during his career. "The reason they (builders) don't like me is because I am bringing claims against them. I am not causing a problem; I am remedying a problem for homeowners."
A father-daughter team of California attorneys, Thomas and Rachel Miller, are representing Anthem residents who filed a defect lawsuit seeking upward of $50 million against builder Del Webb in September.
"Houses have gone up too fast with too little trained labor in Phoenix," said Thomas Miller, who has won $400 million in defect cases for homeowners in four states, including Arizona.
Construction defect attorneys often work on a contingency basis and take a cut of the settlement. The cases are complex. Attorneys hire forensic architects; soil, structural, mechanical and civil engineers; landscape architects and construction-cost estimators. Paying the experts costs tens of thousands of dollars.
"Construction-defect suits will be a major issue for the industry whether or not builders have done a good job," said Ron French, president of Richmond American's Phoenix division. "The attorneys are here."
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