Mike Morgan Vs. Lennar
April 21 - This week was day one of my deposition in the lawsuit Lennar has filed against me. We started off with an argument regarding their "five" attorneys using their Blackberry phones during the deposition. So we called the judge and wasted 45 minutes, before the judge ruled they could only use the Blackberries for emergencies, and he cited specific emergencies. Lennar attorneys thumbed their noses at the judge's order, but that's par for the course. After seven hours, they started asking questions about my businesses not related to the case. And that basically ended day one. In court the judge made a feeble attempt to take control of the case, by ordering my depositon will continue in court, and Saturdays if need be. Unfortunately, we have a judge that allows Lennar's attorneys to lie and twist the facts. It's a shame we can't get a judge that believes in the Constitution and is prepared to uphold the rules and regulations. It's a shame we have a judge that only wants to hear one side of the story. And it's a shame we have a judge that is letting Lennar run his courtroom.
After the day in court yesterday, I decided to discharge my attorneys. In fact, I was prepared to walk away and let Lennar have a default judgment. It's pretty clear this judge is going to rule in their favor, despite the facts. But after a few phone calls from some great people and an offer of financial aid, I decided to continue the battle. Although I cannot accept financial aid from folks through this website, I will continue the battle on my own. In the end, Lennar loses, even if this judge decides he does not have to uphold the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, his own orders and the Constitution.
I want to thank all of you who have offered your support.
April 17 - Finally, a trial date for the lawsuit Lennar has filed against me to shut down this website. We are on our third judge, but it appears this one means business. He sent out an Order with specific dates, including a trial date for July 9th. Lennar filed their lawsuits in June of 2006, so we are coming up to a year of this. And finally, a judge that is taking control of the case and putting it before a jury.
March 23 -Of all the exciting news in the past several months at no time has the news been so encouraging for all of us especially for homebuyers in Washington State and Texas. Please read the following, and send an email or letter to your State officials. Let them know that you want Housing Lemon Laws in your State to protect you from the home builders delivering defective homes.
In Washington State, a bill that most thought would never see the light of day or at the most only stir-up some excitement among homeowners and consumer groups, now appears on the brink of passage. Senator Weinstein authored SB 5550 that would establish a Homeowner's Bill of Rights. Last week the bill passed the Senate on a 30-19 vote. "The days of 'caveat emptor' are over," said Sen. Brian Weinstein, D-Mercer Island referring to a "buyer-beware" doctrine.
In Texas, ask State lawmakers privately and most will agree that TRCC “Builder Protection Agency was a big mistake and should be abolished. Ask any homeowner who has experienced enduring the punishing so-called dispute resolution process of TRCC and all would agree that the agency should be abolished. Finally in the waning hours of the filing deadline Rep. Rob Eissler surprised everyone by filing HB 3269 that if passed would abolish the TRCC.Perhaps the most exciting Texas bills is the Home Lemon Law Bill (HB 2721) filed by Representative Senfronia Thompson which would require the builder to buy back a home if it is found to be a lemon.
March 22 - Many of you have asked for a legal update regarding the lawsuit Lennar has filed against me. I'm happy to say, everything is going fine. As reported earlier Ralph Nader's Public Citizen Group has filed an Amicus Brief in support of our position, and we have heard from some leading academicians from top universities. We've also heard from the American Association for Justice. And we've been on TV twice, with several stations contacting us for additional informatin. If you have media contacts, please keep us in mind.
In regard to our most recent court proceeding. The judge said he has had triple murder cases move faster than ours. Lennar has been dragging their feet in an attempt to avoid a final verdict in court. Yesterday, we had a two hour meeting with the judge, and it became painfull clear for Lennar's counsel that they were called out by my attorneys as liars.
Lennar continues to stall on providing the damaging documents we need, and they continue to file motions upon motions to run my my legal expenses. Little do they know, I have unlimted resources to battle this war, and we will all have a big win very soon.
Today the judge is going to set deadlines, if the attorneys cannot agree. It is highly unlikely that Lennar's attorneys are going to act professionally and conduct themselves within the Rules of Professional Conduct. I like to analogize this to a game of chess. They've just lost a bishop, and my queen has their rooks in a fork. That comes on top of the loss of three pawns. So far I still have all of my pieces, except the three pawns I spotted them. You've got to make some light of this situation, since it is a classic David versus Goliath fight . . . and I still have my slingshot.
As for the judge. This is the third, and hopefully the final. This guy is Aces. Unlike the first judge, who let Lennar's attorneys get away with whatever they wanted, this judge is in complete control of his courtroom. Please continue to pray for me. Once this case is over, we will be able to expand this site and spend more time helping homeowners.
I want to thank everyone that has sent thank you cards and kind emails of support.
March 21 - WOW - The power of this website is growing faster than we ever anticipated. We are now on pace for more than 20,000 unique and returning visitors this month. That's double what we saw just a few months ago! You can help make this website and even bigger success. If you have media contacts that are interested in the story that will rock the country during the next two years, please let them know about our website and send me their contact info so we can send them a package of information. We now have interest from several media folks and contact considering doing a full feature on the issues!
March 10 - If you've tried being nice with Lennar, and you're not getting anywhere read the following excerpt of an email I received from a home inspector. The lady that sent the email is a Lennar owner. She has major problems. She did it her way. She thought if she was nice to Lennar and the County Inspector, she would get her problems taken care of. I spent a great deal of time with her, but she did not follow my advice. I finally cut off all communication with her. So she is writing the inspector, and it is interesting to read the two areas of the excerpt that I highlighted. Now she is admitting I was right and the sugar way was wrong. Unfortunately, she now has the County against her, so her only way out is to get DBPR to look at the matter from a State level, but that takes 6-12 months. If you try the sugar way with Lennar, you will spend a great deal of time and money. You will destroy your personal lives with stress. And in the end they will beat you to a pulp.
Hope all is well. Would you or Mike be interested what Lennar had to say? Basically they deny yours and Jeff Hooper's reports. . Everything is fine and to Code!! Please let me know, Hopefully I get to meet with you the next time when in Fl. I tried the "Sugar way, "obviously that does not work with Lennar. Mike was correct. Yvonne Martin�s Crossing
March 5 - "Service Blitz" ??? - You've just got to read the letter Lennar sent to homeowners in Diamond Lakes. Keep in mind, they only sent this letter after I became involved and we started inspecting homes. Up until that point, Lennar did the run-around-end-run-around dance with these people. The letter Lennar sent the homeowners states that they are now going to show up and have a "service blitz." That's what happens when I get involved. Lennar did the same thing in Martin's Crossing. Unfortunately, the tent and the food and all the circus atmosphere stuff is meaningless, because Lennar is not fixing the big problems. The owners in Diamond Lakes didn't buy Lennar's ka ka. Read Entire Letter - Click Here
March 2 - Don't Drink The Water - Last night I participated an Emergency Meeting to assist the homeowners in a subdivision in Florida with 115 homes. More than 60 people showed up for the meeting, where we discussed the problems with their homes and outlined strategy. The most alarming information shared at the meeting were recent tests on the water in the homes. According to the HOA President Frank Lorito, residents have been complaining of a variety of health problems including rashes, urinary problems, etc. Now they think they know why. According to Frank, the initial test of the water shows a problem. Residents were warned not to drink the water, not to take baths, to wash all clothes in hot water, etc. It seems like the problem is between the street meter and the homes, which is the responsibility of Lennar. As we learn more about this problem, we will update. UPDATE - MARCH 15 - We have not heard anything back from Frank, so we must discount the information regarding the water. That still leaves the 40+ page inspection reports on the first five homes they have inspected.
February 27 - We've been bombarded from news from visitors to our website and news articles on the Internet. First, there is an issue of alleged fraud in Las Vegas with Lennar Homes. Read More And we've received yet another piece about Lennar slam dunking their subcontractors. Read More We are asking all subcontractors that want to speak out to contact us. You will remain anonymous. You can use the form at the bottom of this page or email me directly at Mike@DefectiveHomes.org Why is this important to homeowners? Well, how many subs that Lennar screws do you think will come back to make repairs? None.
February 24 - We just ran the statistics for our website. One word - Amazing. Two months ago we had 4,332 unique visitors in a 30 day period. Today's metrics are 7,369 unique visitors for the last 30 days. That's a 70% jump of more than 3,000 unique visitors. At the rate we are growing, we expect to break the 10,000 mark very soon. That means 120,000 unique visitors a year that are sharing information about Lennar Homes . . . and tens of thousands of potential buyers that are learning about Lennar Homes before they get themselves in trouble.
February 24 - We sent an email to several of the members on the Lennar Board of Directors this week, asking them to consider the Customer Service issues and defect issues with Lennar built homes and service. No response.
February 23 - Today we received a call from an attorney that is representing a group of Lennar owners. This particular attorney has been involved in billion dollar class action lawsuits. We will keep this communication open and continue to coordinate legal teams throughout the United States.
February 22 - ABC News -Tonight we were featured on ABC news at 6:00 with the West Palm Beach affiliate Channel 25.
February 21 - Today Ralph Nader's Public Citizen Group filed an Amicus Brief (friend of the court) on my behalf. I couldn't have asked for anything better than this. To gain the support of Ralph Nader's Public Citizen Group is a huge victory. Lennar can fight this battle as long as they want, but the outcome is the same. This website will stay up to assist home owners and home buyers. If you would like a copy of the Amicus Brief, just email me: Mike@DefectiveHomes.org or you can download it Click Here
February 21 - Tents and Clowns - In response to my assistance to the Diamond Lakes homeowners, Lennar has delivered letters to all of the owners to let them know they are going to set up tents this coming weekend and knocking on doors. They are going to try to address the multitide of issues in this development. Unfortunately, if this is a replay of what Lennar did at Martin's Crossing, it is a cosmetic fix. The inspection reports from Diamond Lakes are coming back at 50+ pages, littered with defects and violations of the Florida Building Code. From what we have heard, the Homeonwers Association is going to go door to door to advise people of what is going on and to show each homeowner some of the inspection reports. Hopefully, the owners will not cave in to cosmetic fixes and sign away their rights for future problems. When you look at the violations of the Florida Building Code in this community, you can only ask one questions . . . How in the world did these homes ever get a Certificate of Occupancy?
February 20 - Press Meeting - I traveled to the Florida State Capitol today to meet with press members. We have great meetings with everyone from the Associated Press to some local papers. I attended with homeowners and a home inspector, and we shared experiences, information and documents about defective homes, lack of code enforcement and Lennar Corporation. Let's hope some of these people start to run with the story. I also received a call this afternoon from a reporter that wanted additional information for a story she is working on. If you have resources in the media, please let us know. We need to be heard, and as one person, I have only so many contacts and can only do so much.
February 19 - Power in Numbers - Homeowners in the Diamond Lakes development in Vero Beach, Florida have called an emergency meeting to deal with their defective homes. The first few reports have come in at 50+ pages each, littered with defects and building code violations. If you are interested in attending, the meeting will be on March 2, 2007 at the Citrus Elementary School. Email me for more details - Mike@DefectiveHomes.org
February 18 - Google Group Forum - We created a Google Group for buyers and owners of homes built by Lennar Homes to share information. You can access this group via http://groups.google.com/group/morgan12
February 16 - Someone came up with a GREAT idea, and we're rolling with it. We are going to offer you FREE signs for your cars, homes, windows, demonstrations, etc. Let the world know what is going on with Lennar Homes. For more information on this Click Here
February 15 - Very busy week for me. I was hosting 18 hedge fund managers, analysts and principals on a tour of the Florida Real Estate markets. In addition to showing them what is going on in the housing industry overall, I had quite a bit of time to explain what is going on with Lennar Homes building defective homes and the problems with their Customer Service.
February 12 - We received a request from another law firm to be added to our legal resources list for you. Here is the info: Robert Ward, Esq. of Burdman & Ward 1255 High Bluff Drive, Suite 301, San Diego, CA 92130 (888) 350-9080 or email rward@burdmanlaw.com website
February 12- Today I had one of my Wall Street Analysts in the car when I received a call from a distraught Lennar buyer. What great timing for someone like this to hear the pain in this lady's voice. For the next two days I will be entertaining 18 financial executives. You can be sure they will all hear about the problems with Lennar Homes.
February 9 - Ralph Nader's Public Citizen Group will be filing an Amicus Brief in our case. This will be a major positive on the issues, and this will get us international attention.
February 8 - Our attorneys working on our non-profti status tell me they are waiting for the final approval from the IRS. Once that is approved, we will be able to accept financial assistance from anyone interested in helping our coalitions Protecting American Homeowners. The last hurdle will be the State Court judge and of course, a small battle with Lennar.
February 8 -Ugalde Update on Dad that Was Electrocuted - They are still battling Lennar. We interoduced them to the finest personal injury in the country, with lead counsel Christian Searcy, of West Palm Beach. Lennar is in for a battle they will lose big. Unfortunately, they continue to battle this poor family. We just learned that the mom, Lisa, is back in the hospital. Here Mom is watching the two little girls, but they are finantially strapped. Anything you can do to help this family will be greatly appreciated.We finally received a call from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The investigator informed me that one of our complaints has been escalated to legal. This is the complaint we filed against a local building official for issuing Certificates of Occupancy to Lennar Homes, even when the homes were defective and did not meet the Florida Building Code. This is another big step towards bringing the legal and legislative system to bear on Lennar Homes.
February 7- The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation has contacted us with great news. One of our complaints against the Martin County Building Official who approved many defective Lennar Homes has been escalated to legal. Tuesday we will be in Tallahassee with a box of surprises for our press conference!
January - Lennar's General Counsel has turned down our settlment offers to address the complaints we receive from you and the complaints on this website. We offered Lennar homes the opportunity to address the complaints. And if they were taken care of, they would come of the website. We we also offered to send all complaints to them before posting, so they had the chance to fix everything before posting. Typical Lennar Homes - they ignored our setlement offers and continue to ignore Lennar Homes owners.