When a dream home turns into a legal nightmare, Arizona law often favors the builder.

Just ask Village of Oak Creek homeowner William Bruderman, who spent $100,000 and more than two years in court fighting to persuade a well-known professional builder to pay for repairs.

Bruderman claims his home is literally cracking in half, and a structural engineer’s report appears to back

him up.

Obvious cracks in the floors and ceiling of the home — more than 60 cracks in all — add to the pile of evidence that something went terribly wrong when the

house was put up more than five years ago.

Neil Klein Homes constructed the 1,960 square-foot, Cortez-style structure off Jacks Canyon Road in 2002. It was the culmination of a dream.

“We were married seven years ago,” Bruderman said, referring to his wife, Carol. “We pooled all of our money and built our dream house here.”

Two years and two months after the couple moved in, heavy rains apparently caused soils beneath

the house to shift and the first

cracks appeared.

At first, the builder tried to reassure the Brudermans nothing out of the ordinary was taking place.

“They said to us that the house was settling,” Carol Bruderman told CNN in an interview televised Sept. 9, 2007. “I said, ‘I’ve built a house before, and houses don’t settle like this.”

The warranty company that backed Neil Klein Homes’ workmanship declined to honor the Brudermans’ claim on the grounds it was outside the terms of coverage, Bruderman said.

“They told us the house had to be unlivable, unsafe, or unsanitary; otherwise, there was no coverage,” he said.

The Brudermans next turned to the State of Arizona for help.

The Arizona Registrar of Contractors, a state agency set up to police builders, declined to investigate Bruderman’s claim that poor workmanship was the source of the problems because a complaint about defects in workmanship must be filed within two years of the completion of the project or occupancy of the home. The Brudermans missed the filing deadline by less than 60 days.

In the meantime, cracks continued to appear; insects started invading the home through cracks in the tile floors and doors; and deadbolt locks stopped fitting into place, Bruderman said.

Neil Klein Homes performed several inspections and offered to perform cosmetic repairs, but continued to argue defect in workmanship was not the source of the problems, Bruderman said.

That’s when the couple decided to hire an attorney and sue.

To prepare for litigation, the Brudermans hired a structural engineer and a geotechnical engineer to investigate. The engineers confirmed their worst fears.

“The greatest damages that we observed at the subject residence appear to be related to the soils movement under and around the home,” wrote Carl H. Josephson, principal structural engineer for Josephson-Werdowatz and Associates of Scottsdale.

“It is our opinion the residence has experienced excessive settlement of the north side due to loose fill and soft natural soils,” wrote Dave Liebelt, principal engineer for Earthworks Engineering Group of Albuquerque.

Neil Klein Homes failed to compact the fill on which the Brudermans’ house was constructed and failed to sink footers, concrete slabs used to support the foundation of a house, so they rested on stable, undisturbed soil, court documents allege.

To add injury to insult, the Brudermans discovered Yavapai County building inspectors waived the requirement that Neil Klein Homes perform soil testing at the site as required by the Uniform Building Code, according to Yavapai County records.

The Yavapai County waiver was conditioned on the builder using 12-foot footers anchored below undisturbed natural grade, something Bruderman alleges was not done. An engineer’s report states the footers needed to go down  at least two more feet to reach stable ground.

Yavapai County chief building official Jack Judd did not return a telephone message requesting an interview as of press time.

Mitch Resnick, the Phoenix attorney defending Neil Klein Homes in the Bruderman’s lawsuit, said: “Number one is that it’s our understanding that the home warranty company is in the process of making repairs to the home. Counsel for both parties have been speaking with each other on the means and methods to hopefully get the matter resolved. Counsel for both sides are trying to avoid litigation costs by pursuing a resolution process.

“The case is in litigation, the repair company is out there and we’re hoping the repairs resolve the homeowner’s concerns.

“I’m not in position to comment any further on the allegations and will allow the litigation and settlement process to resolve any additional allegations and claims.”

Repair work started last week under the watchful eye of county inspectors. The house was jacked up and placed on piers in preparation for the application of urethane intended to lift the slab up to the proper grade. The work could take as long as six weeks, forcing the Brudermans to store all of their belongings and rent a house near Uptown.

On Friday, July 11, Bruderman stood with his wife at a trench next to their dream house, watching as workmen operated equipment that pumped urethane under the home to reposition it into its proper place.

The scene was so upsetting to Carol Bruderman that she flew the next day to Chicago to stay with relatives until the work was completed.

“The builder should have delivered the product they promised,” Bruderman said.

Had the firm spent roughly $10,000 to compact the soil and sink proper footers, all of the trouble could have been avoided, he claims.

Mediation ordered more than one year ago by the Yavapai County Superior Court initially appeared to produce a settlement, Bruderman said, but Neil Klein Homes allegedly backed away from the deal and a pre-trial conference is now set for Monday, July 21, in Prescott.

“All I want is to be made even,” Bruderman said. “I’m telling you, I will fight this until my last dime.”

Average user rating

   (0 vote)