:EVT 2002 - Business;

:Mar 8, 2002;

:Business;

:1

Residents lose bid to widen defects suit with Del Webb

BY MICHELLE SWAFFORD TRIBUNE

    Residents in a north Scottsdale housing community lost a round in Maricopa County Superior Court Wednesday afternoon to turn their construction defect lawsuit into a class-action case.

    Judge Roland J. Steinle said in his ruling the four plaintiffs, homeowners in Del Webb’s Terravita luxury community, failed to meet the burdens required to certify the group as a class, but left open the possibility for the plaintiffs to refile.

    In Steinle’s ruling, he said the plaintiffs failed to show how numerous or common leaky roofs, falling stucco and poor sprinkler systems are in Terravita.

    Thomas Miller, attorney for the plaintiffs, said the plaintiffs will use guidance offered in the judge’s decision to regroup and seek classaction status.

    "The judge in his ruling gave clear guidelines to meet the burden of certifying the class," Miller said. "I think we have a pretty good chance at it."

    Miller said this is the first time Arizona courts have had to grapple with the issue of certifying so many singlefamily homeowners in one class. Deborah Jones, Dianne Stocks, John Bremer and Barbara Ryley are the four plaintiffs in the case and are among more than 1,300 Terravita homeowners.

    Steinle said in his ruling that the plaintiffs did not exclude secondary home buyers who didn’t buy their homes from Del Webb and may have different concerns. According to court documents, 505 homes in Terravita were resold and should be a separate class if they have complaints.

    Del Webb Corp. management welcomed Steinle’s ruling.

    "We’re pleased that the court has concluded that four plaintiffs are not representative of all Terravita residents," said Jacque Petroulakis, Del Webb’s director of public affairs.

    The plaintiffs are suing Terravita Home Construction, a Del Webb company over claims of shoddy workmanship on their roofs, stucco and sprinklers. Del Webb then sues the subcontractors if there is a legitimate claim. Because different contractors were involved, Steinle suggested breaking the class into sub-classes based on complaints or contractors involved with their homes.

    The plaintiffs’ analysis showed 69 homes had stucco defects, but there was no proof that each subcontractor was involved. Furthermore, three of the four named plaintiffs didn’t file a roof claim and some only had one complaint. Steinle said the plaintiffs did not specify which roofs in their study had been repaired.

    Miller said Steinle’s guidelines will help with this case and nine other cases filed in Arizona, which represent 15,000 homeowners. Terravita was the first single-family home defect case filed by the Miller law firm.

    Arizona homeowners have eight years from the time their home is completed to file a claim or seek damages for home defects.

    "Every home has these roof defects, stucco defects and these sprinkler problems so they would need to seek the advise of counsel on how to protect their interests immediately because some of these homes are over eight years now," he said.

    When Del Webb received calls from residents about leaky roofs and falling stucco a few years ago, the builder had an independent inspector look at all Terravita properties as a courtesy. Those that were found to be sub-standard were repaired prior to litigation being filed, Petroulakis said.

    The homebuilder also sent letters to residents saying it stands behind the construction work and will work with any residents who have workmanship concerns.

    "Every home is not perfect and when there’s an issue we stand behind every home without exception," Petroulakis said.