Homeowners sue K&B home for failing to report earthquake fault.The owners of 62 homes in the California Meadows subdivision of Corona last week filed a $20 million fraud and negligence suit against their developer, Los Angeles-based Kaufman & Broad Home Corp., alleging the developer knew and failed to tell them that their complex was built on an active earthquake fault. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the suit, filed in Riverside County Superior Court, the Elsinore-Glen Ivy-North fault runs through the California Meadows tract, and the area has been designated by the state geologist as a "special studies zone," all of which Kaufman & Broad failed to disclose to homebuyers. The homeowners also allege To state, recite, assert, or charge the existence of particular facts in a Pleading or an indictment; to make an allegation. allege v. that they are becoming physically ill because of water seepage into their homes from an underground source that is causing abnormally high concentrations of bacteria and fungus. Kaufman & Broad further is accused of having concealed the water problem "by placing linoleum linoleum (lĭnō`lēəm), resilient floor or wall covering made of burlap, canvas, or felt, surfaced with a composition of wood flour, oxidized linseed oil, gums or other ingredients, and coloring matter. over the dangerous condition." The lawsuit also lists a number of alleged construction defects. The developer's attorney, Dan Belin of Belin & Rawlings, said studies have revealed that the water problems were caused by animal urine, not by drainage and soil problems, and he categorized cat·e·go·rize tr.v. cat·e·go·rized, cat·e·go·riz·ing, cat·e·go·riz·es To put into a category or categories; classify. cat the lawsuit as "opportunism Opportunism Arabella, Lady squire’s wife matchmakes with money in mind. [Br. Lit.: Doctor Thorne] Ashkenazi, Simcha shrewdly and unscrupulously becomes merchant prince. [Yiddish Lit. in the legal community." He said it is his intention to meet with the homeowners and/or their lawyers, "find out what the problems are and make the homeowners happy," settling the case outside the courtroom. Kaufman & Broad has repurchased the homes of 23 other subdivision residents. The lawsuit alleges the developer made the repurchase contingent on Adj. 1. contingent on - determined by conditions or circumstances that follow; "arms sales contingent on the approval of congress" contingent upon, dependant on, dependant upon, dependent on, dependent upon, depending on, contingent the homeowners signing an agreement to never disclose the construction defects. "The selling homeowners had to move out of their homes in the middle or dark of night without telling their neighbors why they were moving," stated the lawsuit. The weekend before the lawsuit was filed, Kaufman & Broad sent letters to California Meadows homeowners, offering to repair homes with "visible structural distress related to soil subsidence subsidence, lowering of a portion of the earth's crust. The subsidence of land areas over time has resulted in submergence by shallow seas (see oceans). Land subsidence can occur naturally or through human activity. or soil expansion" and/or repurchase homes at which repair costs would exceed $20,000. Kaufman & Broad spokeswoman Eileen Rose said the letter was "merely a confirmation of what we have been telling California Meadows homeowners for the past 12 months." During the week of the 17th, the homeowners' law firm, Tharpe & Howell of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , was contacted by Belin and agreed to delay filing the suit until the two sides could meet on Aug. 24. Tharpe & Howell canceled that meeting when Kaufman & Broad sent out the letter. "Frankly, I was outraged," said Belin. Mitch Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. of Tharpe & Howell said he viewed the letter as an attempt to divide homeowners and keep more of them from joining the suit. Cohen said the letter was not a confirmation of earlier verbal statements. "That's not true. Not one of them (plaintiffs) ever received that offer," he said. |
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