Another Weekley owner in Dallas .  As the second buy of a David Weekley Home this family won the right to sue the builder and was able to avoid Binding Arbitration.  Becasue they were the second buyer of the home, the court ruled the owner did not have a contractual agreement to arbitrate with the builder.
State law requires David Weekley and all builders have the duty to build a home
that is habitable.

Attorney Exposes Dick & David Weekley's Joke of Tort Reform
Comment on Article by Dick Weekley on Tort Reform - Homebuilders worse 
I have never seen a piece of garbage in print as bad as "The cost of crooked lawyers" Outlook article. I used to be a defense attorney and worked at the most prominent homebuilder defense firm in Texas, and homebuilders rip off consumers more than any trial lawyer in history. There were times when builders built a horrible house with a bad foundation and then they'd claim "Texas soils shift," when it was actually a badly poured foundation. As the walls of the house would crack and fall, the homeowners' lives in ruin because their dream home was destroyed, the attorneys I worked with and the builders would laugh, knowing that Texas law allows a homeowner no real recourse. Since 1989, when a plaintiff's attorney went on 60 Minutes and bragged he had the Texas Supreme Court bought and paid for, there has been nearly 20 years of "tort reform" lobbyists in Texas. While the targets are trial attorneys over and over again, when has the Chronicle ever really done serious front-page journalism on the real people harmed, the people who are injured?  Aaron A. Herbert, attorney Dallas


Related article:
Warning!  Avoiding Builder Contracts that Harm New Home Buyers
How to minimize the risk and avoid Binding Arbitration 
Read: Avoiding Builder Contracts with Binding Arbitration 

Lobby Watch
"Leaky Weekleys"
Moldy 'Lemon' Homes Denied Day In Court
Weekley Boys Privatize the 'Justice' System

                                News and Updates:  
       New David Weekley Built Home Torn Down due to Mold
                           
                    See more photos: David Weekley Home Defects

        Richardson Family Weekly Home Featured in Washington Post
Jul 14 2002 No Suits Allowed  Increasingly, Arbitration Is the Only Recourse   By Caroline E. Mayer Washington Post Staff Writer. ) As an arbitrator, you're going to get work as long as parties choose to use you, and if this is your career or it makes up a good part of your practice, then if you render a decision that is unpopular" with parties that frequently use arbitration, they "may not choose to use you again."…The homeowner is convinced she won't get a fair hearing. Weekley At The Supreme Court 

See Toxic Stories
More David Weekley Homes Lemons
More photos

Jul 8 2002 "Leaky Weekleys"  Moldy 'Lemon' Homes Denied Day In Court Weekley Boys Privatize the 'Justice' System.

• Since sports stadium builder Aric Barto closed on a new $268,000 David Weekley home in December 2000 he has been plagued by troubles of almost biblical proportions.
• After the DeShazo family paid more than $300,000 for a new Weekley Home in 2001, the builder came out three times to reseal the joint where the shower in their master bath meets the floor.
   

Sept 29 2002 DANGERS WITHIN - Faulty construction, mold-attracting materials, builder shortcuts hazardous to new homes Willard and Cinda Thomas say their dream house almost killed them. Only four years after moving into the 3,000-square-foot model home in Keller, Cinda had joint pain to the point where she could barely walk. Willard became weak, depressed, asthmatic and arthritic...Mold may be the last thing home buyers think of on moving day. But home inspectors and some homeowners have found that new homes are not exempt from sometimes devastating mold infestation. Faulty building techniques, builder shortcuts during the construction boom and some materials that serve as food for mold are being blamed for mold moving into some new homes as fast as the new owners do.

Jul 8 2002 TOXIC MOLD PAGE - Web Archive ARCHIVE ACTIVATED [ORIGINAL SITE NO LONGER ACTIVE] My house is infested with toxic mold 58 times the outside levels of Penicillum. David Weekly is doing a good job of fixing the problem, though. The cause was a faulty transition fitting from the PVC to copper pipe going to the water heater (in the attic) along with a sheetrocker's nail that had pierced the PVC pipe during the construction of the house (pressure tests are being done on new construction -- required in the City of Houston, but not the county).

Jul 8 2002 [ORIGINAL SITE NO LONGER ACTIVE. ] To provide an instructive example, here we document our own family's toxic David Weekley home nightmare. We hope that by making available the knowledge we gained through our horrible David Weekley Homes experience, it will help you make the decisions necessary to keep your family safe. 

Jun 30 2002 Rich dig deeper to gain influence Analysis of Texas campaign donations shows top contributors are who's who of corporate Texas. By Laylan Copelin AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF "Most are giving the bulk of their money to Republicans and to Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a largely business-backed group whose members believe it is too easy to sue and win big judgments in Texas courts. "

NOTE: Texans for Lawsuit Reform is head by Richard Weekley, brother of David Weekley the builder. TLR is one of the reasons we are so lacking in consumer protection. They support binding arbitration.

Jun 17 2002 texans for lawsuit reform at the State Democratic Convention. tlr's president is Richard Weekley, brother of homebuilder David Weekley. We had very interesting conversations with the members of tlr. They were not aware of the high cost of arbitration. Or of the specifics of David Weekley, the builder.

May 19 2002 Nonprofit group pans arbitration Says system stacked against consumers Associated Press Touted as a cheaper and faster alternative to lawsuits, binding arbitration is expensive for consumers and denies them access to courts, according to a report released last week by the non-profit group Public Citizen. 

May 17 2002  Consumer advocates hammer arbitration  Homeowners from across Texas Rally at the TX State Capitol prior to the Hearings on Arbitration. Hearing Audio Available

May 17 2002 Public should keep right to day in court Editorial Board AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN Within the United States, however, some in the business community are doing whatever they can to shake themselves free of the judicial system in favor of "binding arbitration" clauses in contracts that automatically send disputes to an arbitrator rather than a courtroom. 

May 16 2002 Who really backs lawsuit abuse campaigns? Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA). Shouldnít the name be Corporations Against Lawsuits? (Enough said)

May 16 2002 Home buyers object to clause in sales contracts Texas House panel hears complaints about binding arbitration requirement By David Pasztor AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Home builders are drawing most of the ire in Texas, said Jackson Williams of Public Citizen, because almost all of them are now inserting binding arbitration clauses into their contracts at the suggestion of the Texas Association of Builders. 

May 16 2002 Consumer advocates hammer arbitration  By Adolfo Pesquera  Express-News Business Writer James Evans, a Houston attorney, cited a case where a client's house slid down a hill because of an improper foundation. After his client got nothing, Evans sued the association and arbitrator Stephen Paxson, claiming Paxson, a lawyer for the Greater Houston Builders Association, had lobbied to change the law his client was relying on.

Note: Unknown to most in the audience, Stephen Paxson was the last speaker at the hearing. He helped write an Amicus to the Supreme Court in favor of removing the implied warranty of habitability and good workmanship, as well as an amicus in the Perry Homes v. Atiwiler case (02-98-00106-CV, 33 SW3d 376, 11-02-00)which the Supreme Court refused to hear.

May 15 2002 Texas' mushrooming toxic mold epidemic offers a crash course in the perils of binding arbitration. First, consumers learn that their new dream home is a moldy lemon. Then they discover that arbitration contracts strip their right to a jury trial and force their claims before costly, secretive tribunals that favor builders. The new Lobby Watch profiles a few consumers who bought moldy new houses from arbitration enthusiast David Weekley Homes.

May 14 2002 Private arbitration criticized  Report says court often cheaper; supporters say study is misleading  By MARK CURRIDEN / The Dallas Morning News Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Patrick Higginbotham warned at a conference in Dallas two weeks ago that the movement away from the public court system toward private justice is a "dangerous situation with major public policy implications." 

May 14 2002 Arbitration could prove costly for homeowners By JANET ELLIOTT Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau According to the report, the filing fee for an $80,000 consumer claim in Cook County, Ill., Circuit Court is $221. The American Arbitration Association, one of several private companies providing arbitration services, charges a filing fee of $1,250. 

May 9 2002 THE CONSUMER PITFALLS OF BINDING ARBITRATION A Report by the Texas Watch Foundation  The report raises questions about the quality of justice delivered through binding arbitration between parties of different bargaining levels and documents the uneven playing field binding arbitration offers consumers and citizens seeking justice. 

Apr 10 2002  David Weekley home nightmare. [NO LONGER ACTIVE. ]  This web site serves as a resource for homeowners on the damaging aspects of toxic mold, toxic building materials, and anti-consumer residential construction policies and practices.  

Nov 27, 2001 Tort Tycoons Poured Millions into 2000 Texas Elections Report Tracks Texans for Lawsuit Reform's Top Donors [Includes David Weekley and Perry Homes] NOTE: TLR is a so called "grassroots organization".

• Altogether, these 24 king makers spent $4.5 million to influence Texas politics in the 2000 cycle, with Houston homebuilder Bob Perry spending an astounding $912,500.
• Plaintiff Carlos Murillo complained that the builder refused to finish his house until he put up a yard sign that said, "Come Talk To Me Before You Buy a David Weekley Home." 
• Dick Weekley of Weekley Homes donated $126,000 to TLR and $208,925 total for 2000 elections.
  Bob J. Perry of Perry Homes donated $90,000 to TLR and  $912,500 total for 2000 elections.

Oct 30, 2001 Texas PACs 2000 Election Cycle  Tort Law: $1,481,128 TLR (Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a so called grass roots organiztaion) raised half of its money from the families of just five tycoons who made fortunes in litigious industries: Sterling Groupís Gordon Cain ($200,000); real estate mogul Harlan Crow ($150,000); Cogen Technologiesí Robert McNair ($125,000); and the owners of David Weekley Homes ($126,000) and Bob Perry Homes ($90,000). 

Oct 24, 2001: Texans for Lawsuit Reform is headed by Richard Weekley, brother of David Weekley. TLR is partially responsible for destroying our rights for consumer protection in Texas. The following are a few interesting articles about David Weekley's brother:

Anti-Consumer Legislation Fizzles As expected, the special interest groups were back in Austin this legislative session. Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the Texas Civil Justice League and the other so-called tort "reform" groups were well armed and heavily financed. One consumer advocate summed up the special interest groupsí legislative proposals as "immunity for all, accountability for none." In an effort to influence the 1997 legislative session, one group spent over $1 million in contributions to state legislative campaigns. 

Law firms in tobacco lawsuit contribute heavily to Democrats Cornyn received a total of $191,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform's political arm; from Houston developer Richard Weekley, who heads the organization; and from members of Weekley's family during the general election campaign.

A $100,000 contribution from TLR's political action committee went to Cornyn on Oct. 26, eight days before the election.

Members of lawsuit reform group top Perry donors  DALLAS (AP) ó Members of a Houston-based lawsuit reform group are among the top donors to Republican Gov. Rick Perry's election campaign, prompting criticism about the group's political influence.

As soon as the legislative session ended, clearing the way for campaign contributions, big checks began pouring into Perry's campaign, 

Business-backed group wants more civil court changes By CHIP BROWN Associated Press With the support of Gov. George W. Bush in 1995, a business-backed group known as Texans for Lawsuit Reform helped draft laws that make it more difficult for Texans to collect damages in civil cases.

Fraser, Perry tout Lawsuit Reform backing By RICHARD HORN Senior Staff Writer Texans for Lawsuit Reform, known for heavily funding candidates who back its agenda, has endorsed Troy Fraser for the Texas Senate.

Dr. Issues Killer Post-Mortem  On Perryís Prompt-Pay Veto. (Richard Weekley of Texas for Lawsuit Reform,  is the brother of David Weekley, the homebuilder. We call them, among other things,"Corporations for No Lawsuits")

* With Doctors Bloodied, Toomey & Weekley Should Consider Christian Science.
* Did Cornyn Agree To Broker A Compromise With A Politicized A.G. Opinion? 

Aug 2, 2001 [ABOT] Insurance carriers hit with fines  Must pay medical bills  By CLAY ROBISON Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau . Perry vetoed the measure at the urging of civil justice reformers and other business groups because it would have removed arbitration as an option for settling health insurance claims. [Mandatory and binding arbitration is NOT an option. It is the ONLY option.]

Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which urged the veto, praised the fines. "Governor Perry promised Texas doctors he would help them with slow paying insurance companies, and he has," said the group's president, Dick Weekley. 

NOTE: Dick Weekley is the brother of David Weekley. See also July 20, 2001  Perry's veto still a bitter pill for doctors By Gary Susswein American-Statesman Staff. Binding Arbitration clauses rip hearts out of doctors. "Perry said he vetoed the bill because it would have prevented insurers from settling disputes through alternate methods or binding arbitration, would have encouraged frivolous lawsuits and would have driven up the cost of health insurance."

July 19, 2001 Doctors feel the wrath of Texans for Lawsuit Reform on binding arbitration clauses.Viewpoints Houston Chronicle. One of the most notorious take-it-or-leave-it clauses is a requirement that doctors waive their legal rights under state law (and, by extension, patients' rights) by agreeing that all disputes be sent to mandatory, binding arbitration, which is expensive, cumbersome and lengthy.

NOTE: TLR is headed by Richard Weekley, brother of David Weekley, Texas Homebuilder.The TLR is a so called "grassroots" organizations with the consumer in mind. See: Redefining reform  Big business proponents contrive some of the worst bills of the 74th session  By Molly Ivins "Say a builder has been using some cheesy materials that fall apart after 10 years. No responsibility falls to the builder--you have to sue the manufacturer"

Feb 7, 2001 From The Dallas Observer concerning "tort reform" and David Weekley Homes: Redefining reform  Big business proponents contrive some of the worst bills of the 74th session  By Molly Ivins "Say a builder has been using some cheesy materials that fall apart after 10 years. No responsibility falls to the builder--you have to sue the manufacturer"

Feb 5, 2001 Slab o' Trouble  Some David Weekley homebuyers discovered their dreams were built on shifting sands. What's worse, they say, is that Weekley knew.  By Bob Burtman  The Houston Press. "When Weekley failed to take care of the unfinished items after more than a month of requests to do so, however, Carlos posted a sign in the front yard that said, "Come Talk to Me Before You Buy a David Weekley Home." That day, says Claudia, a crew arrived and tackled the checklist."

Feb 5, 2001 Weekley for the Defense   By Bob Burtman The Houston Press." If the Murillos, Townsends and Ganjis tried to bring their suits against David Weekley Homes today, they might have a tougher time in court, thanks to revisions in the law approved during the 1995 legislative session. Those changes were largely due to the efforts of Texans for Lawsuit Reform and its founder, shopping center developer Dick Weekley, David's brother."

July 7, 2001 On Guard Against Mold by Jaime Levy Austin American Statesman. Joel Katz, president of Katz Builders Inc. and chairman of a state task force to study indoor air quality and moisture control, acknowledged that building defects can occur, but he stressed the role of the homeowner in preventing and eliminating mold.