Grounds for litigation
Zornes feels like he got a defective product, and he wants builders Danny and Pam McKee to refund money. To that end, he filed a lawsuit last week in Boone County Circuit Court naming the McKees, developer Martin Builders and the city of Ashland. The lawsuit claims that Ashland building inspectors went to the site and requested a soil study before the house went up. Documents and photographs Zornes obtained indicate one inspector, standing where the foundation was to be poured, pushed a reinforced steel bar more than 4 feet into soggy ground with his bare hands. But the lawsuit claims the builder never did the soil study, and today the soggy ground depicted in Zornes’ photographs is what holds his house in place.

Grounds for litigation
Ashland man sues over site of home.

Don Shrubshell photo

Chuck Zornes contends the Palomino Ridge subdivision house he bought two years ago in Ashland was built on an underground stream, causing excessive problems with settling. He has sued the builder, developer and the city of Ashland.

ASHLAND - Chuck Zornes wants to return his house.

Just two years ago, Zornes and wife Nanette purchased a new $200,000-plus home in Ashland’s growing Palomino Ridge subdivision.

Making the move from Florida to Missouri, they were sold on the home’s open floor plan, big basement and the back windows facing a large, rolling field.

Zornes said the house had just about everything they were looking for.

But soon after moving in, Chuck Zornes, 65, began spotting cracks in the tile floors and walls. Doors, once squarely set, soon appeared crooked.

The small problems set off a seemingly endless chain of fixes. Zornes estimates work crews have been back to his home between eight and 12 times since he bought it.

Zornes feels like he got a defective product, and he wants builders Danny and Pam McKee to refund money. To that end, he filed a lawsuit last week in Boone County Circuit Court naming the McKees, developer Martin Builders and the city of Ashland.

But the real culprit, Zornes believes, is the soil under his house.

"Down in Florida, they’d probably call it muck," he said.

The lawsuit claims Zornes’ house was built on unstable soil in what used to be a creek bed.

The bad soil, which Zornes said no one told him about until after he bought the place, made the house settle an excessive amount, causing all the cracking and other problems, according to Zornes’ lawsuit.

The McKees and Martin Builders could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit claims that Ashland building inspectors went to the site and requested a soil study before the house went up. Documents and photographs Zornes obtained indicate one inspector, standing where the foundation was to be poured, pushed a reinforced steel bar more than 4 feet into soggy ground with his bare hands.

But the lawsuit claims the builder never did the soil study, and today the soggy ground depicted in Zornes’ photographs is what holds his house in place.

Ashland City Administrator Ken Eftink said the city was aware of some drainage issues with a few homes in Palomino Ridge, but the problems number "no more than any other subdivision as far as the typical storm-water drainage issues that you get in a new development."

Eftink said he recognized that some houses in the subdivision are sited lower than the rest, but the city doesn’t regulate that.

"That’s up to the builder," Eftink said. "And, of course, that’s up to the buyer to determine if they’re comfortable with the elevation the home is set at."

Eftink said he could not comment on Zornes’ complaints in the lawsuit.

"We’ve not gotten any paperwork on it," he said of the suit. "I assume it’s coming."

Zornes said there are a lot of things he likes about his house, but there is little the sellers could do - other than refund his money and compensate him for his improvements - that would make him happy.

"You’d have to come in here, pick up the house and move it," he said.

Reach Jacob Luecke at (573) 815-1713 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
http://columbiatribune.com/2007/Feb/20070211News006.asp