Chance of rain sparks additional landslide evacuations
More residents of the Hills of Rivermist subdivision on the city's Northwest Wide were evacuated Wednesday. Police walked up and down Treewell Glen to issue the voluntary evacuation notice. Police say houses on that street located at the top of a hill behind the retaining wall are in danger of moving if significant rainfall moves in. This latest evacuation includes about 20 houses.The people who live in the neighborhood continues to want answers to the longer range problem.Karen Maxwell, who lives in the Hills of Rivermist, told us, "A lot of the homeowners feel they want Centex to buy back their homes because they feel like the value of their house has gone down so quickly and it's not any fault of theirs." Meanwhile, some of Rivermist homeowners testified Wednesday in Austin before a House committee that is looking to make changes in how disputes like this are handled. Charles Cervantes told the House Committee on Civil and Jurisprudence in Austin he's stuck because his home near the landslide is worthless. He urged lawmakers on Wednesday to make changes protecting new home buyers who are often forced to sign contracts agreeing to binding arbitration. The committee hopes to have recommendations for lawmakers to consider by the end of the year.  WOAI 4 News Report....

Rivermist residents to take complaints to state capitol
Residents in the Rivermist subdivision are now taking their gripes to the state capitol. The group will testify on the Forced Binding Arbitration law, which they say denies justice for homeowners. Residents also held a meeting Tuesday night to discuss establishing a united front. Previous meetings offered few answers with Pulte offering to meet with homeowners individually, but homeowners at the meeting believe forming a community voice will be more beneficial. “There are things we can do as whole community if we act as one person.” said homeowner Gil Morales, “We are pushing unity, first of all.” The meeting was so well attended, many homeowners were forced to listen from the hallway. Morales said many actions will be taken as a group although no definite plans for lawsuits or other legal action were confirmed.
See KENS TV News Report...

Rivermist homeowners find no comfort at capitol
It was another day of questions with no answers for residents of the Hills of Rivermist. About two dozen families remain evacuated in the northwest-side subdivision, where a landslide threatens to topple and crush homes. Some of those property owners took their concerns to the state capitol Wednesday. Martin Bartlett has their story. See Channel 5 News Report...

Texas Politics - Homeowner: Too late to start over
Homeowners from San Antonio's Northwest Side neighborhood that underwent a landslide had a few minutes apiece before a House committee today. The committee is considering the issue of consumers being required to agree that they'll take any claims to arbitration in deals such as home-purchase contracts. Janet Ahmad of HomeOwners for Better Building said the San Antonio homeowners' contracts had such clauses for all disputes. "I live in the Hills of Rivermist... The sliding Hills of Rivermist," said Charles Cervantes, saying when he bought his home, he thought he'd be protected by a warranty if anything went wrong.

Express-News: Homeowners speak against binding arbitration
Homeowners distraught about their safety and property values after a retaining wall collapsed in their San Antonio neighborhood told state lawmakers Wednesday they feel hit again by a binding-arbitration clause in their purchase contracts.T he clause, common in home contracts, requires purchasers to go through an arbitration process with the developer and builder to settle complaints. “A homeowner has practically no rights (from) what I’ve heard here today,” Terry Lisherness, 62, a resident of the Hills of Rivermist, told the state House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee. “I’m very upset and I’m very scared.”

Forced arbitration clauses hide in consumer contracts, but bills in Congress would give consumers more choice: Sheryl Harris
Binding arbitration carries some distinct pitfalls for consumers. Because the company chooses the arbitration forum and rules, upfront costs for consumers can be prohibitively high. Decisions, even ones that run counter to law, often are protected from review by courts. And while parties in court cases can demand important behind-the-scenes records through discovery, those in arbitration don't have the same access.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) Press Release

Huffington Post: Franken's Amendment; the Power and the Promise
Senator Al Franken got my attention and the attention of a lot of other people who care about sexual abuse and violence, with the passing of his Senate Amendment 2566. The Amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill provides for the withholding of federal funds from contractors who continue to apply binding arbitration clauses in employment contracts. It was such a clause that prevented Ms. Jamie Leigh Jones from having her day in court after she was allegedly gang raped and locked in a shipping container in Iraq for two days while employed by a subsidiary of Halliburton. Ms. Jones was present at the hearing. I will leave the commentary of Senator Franken's budding political career and those who opposed his amendment to others more qualified than myself. Read all the National News Coverage - OUTSTANDING VIDEOS: SENATOR FRANKEN IN COMMITTEE AND JAMIE LEIGH JONES

Press Release: Rep. Johnson calls for investigation of homebuilders
Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) urged Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker to investigate practices of homebuilders and their use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in a letter he sent the state’s top lawyer. Citing the example of a Marietta couple (Greg & Kim Cole) who appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Feb. 2009, Johnson told Baker the family was devastated aftera $429,000 new home they purchased became so dangerously overrun with mold that “they were forced to sleep in cars, tents and friends’ homes.”