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Legend - Latest News
Homebuilder Money, Binding Arbitration & Using Docotors |
Sunday, 06 February 2005 |
Houston Chronicle Power tale: Mugging Dr. Welby By RICK CASEY A recent study showing that homebuilders have contributed $9 million to state officials in the past four years raised a simple question.What are they getting for their money? The Austin-based reform organization that conducted the study, Campaigns for People, accused legislators of responding by setting up the Texas Residential Construction Commission... Richard Weekley, a Houston real estate developer (and part owner of his brother's David Weekley Homes), wrote a letter to Gov. Perry... |
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Poconos Home Builder Fraud |
Sunday, 06 February 2005 |
Poconos home builder is charged in real estate fraud investigation District attorney's office says it is looking into six other firms A day after announcing felony charges against a Poconos home builder, the Monroe County district attorney's office said it's aggressively investigating at least six other builders in a widening probe of real estate fraud.
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Outstanding article from Off the Kuff |
Friday, 04 February 2005 |
Off the Kuff Building influence Here's an interesting article from the This Week section of the Chron regarding an acrimonious and public battle between a disgruntled homebuyer named Jordan Fogal and the builder who constructed her house, Tremont Homes... Let's start with the baseless attack on civil juries, something that I've noted before. Just once, I'd like to see a reporter ask someone who offers such an opinion if they hold similar feelings about juries in criminal trials... Attacking juries like this is cynical, dishonest, and really quite insulting, since after all everyone reading this is a potential juror. That this now seems to be a standard talking point for the homebuilding industry certainly doesn't give me any faith in their preferred system of arbitration...But what really gets me is the last quoted sentence. The lawyer for the builders is also an arbitrator for the AAA, which is the group used to rule on these builder/buyer disputes. |
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Illinois Attorney General takes action |
Tuesday, 01 February 2005 |
Illinois Attorney General Madigan Seeks Temporary Restraining Order Against Home Repair And Remodeling Company And Owner 31 Consumers Allegedly Bilked For Approximately $2.1 Million January 28, 2005 -- Chicago â With an avalanche of consumer complaints piling up and at the request of the office of Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Cook County Judge Peter Flynn this afternoon entered a temporary restraining order (TRO) against a Cook County construction and home repair company and its president after they allegedly bilked 31 consumers out of approximately $2.1 million. |
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Tuesday, 01 February 2005 |
News 3 Las Vegas Beazer Homes Ripped Apart To Support Defect Claims "There have been concerns all throughout the neighborhood where houses have been tested and had a lot of mold⦠The invasive testing going on at Mary Fiel's house and 13 others in Vista Del Oro is part of a construction defect lawsuit filed about a year ago against Beazer Homes⦠Jewel White is another Vista Del Oro homeowner. "This was my retirement dream, which has turned into a nightmare." The lawsuit, which is pending clearance for class action status, alleges Beazer knew about the defects and in many cases, failed to act. "Nobody wanted to sue them. We asked them time and time again to fix things and they wouldn't do it." Things like water leaks, plumbing and electrical problems and mold. "You buy a house with the hope that it's going to be done right, and it's not." Must See: Beazer Homes Lawsuits |
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Sunday, 30 January 2005 |
Cincinnati Enquirer Hammer home-builder fraud Two pairs of local white-collar criminals are prison-bound for similar fraud schemes that ripped off banks and home buyers. Bankers John Finnan and Marc Menne were sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Covington to 63 and 54 months respectively for their roles in the $30 million Erpenbeck home-building fraud. Eleven days earlier, Fairfield home builder Chester Calkins and his wife, Antonette, pleaded guilty to a similar $5 million scam. |
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Former Cincinnati Home Builders Association President Convicted of Fraud |
Friday, 28 January 2005 |
Cincinnati Enquirer Builder awaits fraud sentence Calkins case reminds many of Erpenbeck A Fairfield home builder is awaiting sentencing for bank fraud in a case reminiscent of the Erpenbeck scandal that rocked the region. Federal prosecutors say Chester Calkins and his wife, Antonette, did not pay off construction loans on 47 condominiums purchased with cash⦠It is unclear what sent Chester Calkins, who was president of the Greater Cincinnati Home Builders Association in 2000, into financial collapse. The company is in bankruptcy, and Calkins has been convicted of writing bad checks in Ohio. |
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Take Back Your Right in the News |
Friday, 28 January 2005 |
Frisco Enterprise Attorneys for city and TBYR volley legalities "The Beckas hereby make a formal legal demand that at the next city council meeting, on or before Feb. 8, 2005, that you officially place the two Take Back Your Rights charter amendments on the May 2005 election ballot," wrote Fred Lewis, an Austin-based attorney representing the group headed by Frisco orthodontist Dr. David Becka. "The law is clear that you are required to put the amendments on the May 2005 ballot and failure to do so is a violation of your non-discretionary duties," Lewis wrote. Lewis is the leader of government watchdog groups called "Campaign for the People and "Clean Up Texas Politics." He said he is offering his services to TBYR pro bono, free of charge. |
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AAA & Tremont Homes poor building practices in the news again |
Thursday, 27 January 2005 |
Houston Chronicle Owners, builder in standoff over home Couple wants house bought back, plus cash payment; company says 'no'
When Jordan and Bob Fogal purchased a $360,000 town home in Hyde Park Crescent in April 2002, they thought they were making a sound investment... "The first night we were there, my husband took a bath on the third floor and water leaked all the way down to the first floor," she said. As the months passed, she said, the home continued to deteriorate. The stucco on the outside walls began to crack, the kitchen leaked badly and the house began to smell... Tremont is forcing the fogal's into binding arbitration which Jordan describes in this article as: "You've got people blindly walking into arbitration, hoping to get a fair deal, but they're not going to. It's like a drunk driver suing you for denting his car with your head." |
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New Jersey Supreme Court Rule to Hold Builder Accountable |
Wednesday, 26 January 2005 |
Star-Ledger Staff Justices hold builders liable years after sale Ruling is a victory for new home buyers Giving homeowners a powerful new set of allies, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled yesterday that municipal construction officials can fine builders for faulty craftsmanship years after the house is completed and sold. |
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Texas New Substandard Standards |
Wednesday, 26 January 2005 |
Houston Chronicle Getting it in writing Texas has put in place standards for home construction, but builders and consumer activists disagree on their fairness First it cracked. Then it buckled. Finally the kitchen tile in Debbie and Rick Gannaway's Katy home popped off the floor. But their builder, Houston-based Trendmaker Homes, won't fix it because their one-year warranty on workmanship and materials has expired. |
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