Kaufman Broad Target of Suit by Homeowners : Litigation: Buyers allege that the developer sold them faulty houses in a Corona development.
A group of Corona homeowners have sued Kaufman & Broad Home Corp., alleging that the Los Angeles developer sold them homes with faulty roofs, drainage problems, poorly reinforced foundation slabs and cracks in the interior drywall and exterior stucco.
The suit filed Tuesday in Riverside Superior Court by 63 owners of homes in the California Meadows housing tract also alleges that Kaufman & Broad violated California law by failing to disclose that a so-called special studies earthquake zone is located within the tract.
The suit seeks $120 million in actual and punitive damages against Kaufman & Broad, two of its wholly-owned companies and 11 other defendants.
“Their construction is very disappointing,” said Rebecca Soli, a plaintiff and a homeowner in the 100-home community of $100,000 to $140,000 houses. “I have neighbors moving out left and right because of the problem. It’s real scary. It’s like it’s a ghost town out here now.”
Kaufman & Broad spokeswoman Eileen Rose called the lawsuit “outrageous and completely without merit.” Rose also said: “Kaufman & Broad stands behind the structural integrity and the construction quality of its product, including all the homes at California Meadows.”
When asked about specific allegations in the lawsuit, Kaufman & Broad lawyer Daniel Belin, said he could “not speak to what was disclosed or not disclosed to buyers” in terms of being located on an earthquake fault, but he acknowledged that the homes contained defects.
However, Belin said the company sent California Meadows homeowners a letter last week offering to make any repairs needed over the next 10 years at Kaufman & Broad’s expense or have Kaufman & Broad repurchase defective homes at fair market value.
Litigation is common in the building industry and Kaufman & Broad has been dogged by a series of complaints by homeowners and government regulators over the years.
The company has been the target of at least six lawsuits in two decades alleging serious misconduct, ranging from bribery to substandard construction practices.
