Erin Brockovich Here To Help Westcott Plantation
“They've asked for help-they're sick, we're finding contaminants and somebody needs to give them some answers,” Brockovich pleads. Brockovich says testing at Wescott has shown higher than allowed levels of chemical compounds, mostly Benzene, a colorless and flammable liquid that used to be added to gasoline. Now she says that compound can be found underneath people's homes in levels more than 70 times the EPA allowed amount.

Erin Brockovich to conduct inquiry in N. Charleston
Environmental advocate Erin Brockovich is investigating a North Charleston neighborhood that she said she believes is contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical... She said the Wescott case reminds her of other neighborhoods in the country she has studied, in which toxic chemicals seeped from waste sites to residential areas. An EPA official said the agency is investigating whether the areas in question have been used as dumping sites...Brockovich said she'll take on the Wescott case despite threats from Lennar. She said the company told her this week that it would conduct "a smear campaign" against her if she continued her investigation.

Erin Brockovich Held Press Conference regarding Contaminated Lennar  Community in Charleston, SC...  

Westcott Plantation Worries Bring Erin Brockovich To Town
Erin Brockovich came to Charleston to help unhappy homeowners living in Westcott Plantation. "She flew out and met with homeowners, about eight of us, and brought in members of her own team to check into it," Hull says. They found the homeowners are bringing in other more dangerous chemicals, like benzyne and acetone, chemicals commonly found in paint thinner.

Lennar Reports Biggest Loss in Its 53-Year History
Lennar Corp., the largest U.S. homebuilder, reported the biggest quarterly loss in its 53-year history after $848 million of costs to write down the value of real estate. The third-quarter net loss was $513.9 million, or $3.25 a share, exceeding the most pessimistic estimates from analysts and suggesting the worst housing market in 16 years shows no signs of stabilizing. Revenue at Miami-based Lennar fell 44 percent to $2.34 billion, the lowest in more than three years.

Troubled home builders turn to layoffs
Lennar Corp. became the latest to downsize, revealing Tuesday that it has slashed 35 percent its work force amid the national mortgage crisis. The latest cuts follow similar moves by other big builders. Pulte Homes Inc. cut 1,400 full-time jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, last year. Centex Corp. also slashed 10 percent of its salaried work force in 2006 to around 6,400. A tightening credit market, rising foreclosures and the sales slowdown have boosted housing inventory while forcing painful markdowns that have hurt housing companies' bottom lines.

City of Hutto Confirms Defective Lennar Homes
After Thursday night’s City Council meeting some are saying the commonality of expansive soils problems and defective trusses are a major concern. Hutto Chief Building Official Daniel McDowell reported to the council that excessive mail pops, cracks in drywall, slabs and masonry are prevalent and that homeowners are complaining that Lennar Homes repairs are inadequate.  McDowell found that excessive movement has caused increased stress loads to the building components due to expansive soil in the area; causing the structures to shift beyond normal tolerances causing the cracks. Angry homeowners steped to the podium complaining they obtained what they say are falsified HUD Builders Certification, form 92541, in which Lennar certified that the soil the homes were built on was not expansive.  See Building Official's Report...

Hutto residents protest Lennar subdivision
Since purchasing their new homes, numerous residents of the Hutto Parke subdivision say they have found cracks and nail pops in their walls and ceilings, foundation problems and defective roof trusses - and do not want others to have to experience the same. Residents allege the subdivision's homebuilder, Lennar Corp., sold them "defective homes" and lied on Housing and Urban Development documents, claiming the homes were built on un-expansive soil.

Lennar, Stuart real estate broker settle suit out of court
More than a year and 27 thick volumes of court paperwork after it was filed, the lawsuit between Lennar Corp. and the Stuart real estate broker crusading against the homebuilding company has been dismissed.Circuit Judge Larry Schack congratulated Lennar and defendant Michael Morgan and ordered the case closed Aug. 29 after receiving notice they had reached a confidential settlement.

Bomb jitters spur visits to attorneys
The first of what's expected to be many lawsuits was filed in Orange County Court on Wednesday against Lennar Homes, one of several companies that built some houses atop part of a forgotten Army bombing range. Lawyers have been circling since the Army Corps of Engineers announced in July that at least two live World War II-era bombs were found on ranchland behind Odyssey Middle School, down the street from Viera's new home. The Corps also announced that the school and part of the 950-acre Vista Lakes community were built atop the western fringe of the range used in the late 1940s to train bombardiers.