Decision by PA Supreme Court means people who bought water-damaged homes from the original owners can pursue legal action against homebuilder Toll Bros.
PHILADELPHIA (April 2020) Horn Williamson, the woman-owned construction and real estate law firm in Philadelphia, has won a significant victory for secondary owners of water-damaged homes that were built by Toll Brothers.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on April 21 denied a petition from Toll Bros. to hear a consolidated appeal in more than two dozen lawsuits against the Horsham-based homebuilder. The decision means that rulings in favor of the homeowners in the Pennsylvania Superior Court and the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas will stand.
“This is a significant victory for our clients, who have endured so many sleepless nights over the condition of and repair costs of their homes, which are usually a family’s largest asset,” said firm founder and managing member, Jennifer M. Horn. “This decision puts an end to Toll Brothers’ attempts to draw out this long-running legal battle and enables these homeowners to pursue the justice they deserve.”
The cases involve homeowners who bought their Toll Brothers homes from the original or a subsequent buyer and then filed lawsuits alleging that shoddy construction led to water damage. These secondary homeowners now can pursue their claims through the justice system, not forced into mandatory arbitration as was required of the original homeowners by the home’s original warranty from Toll Brothers.
An experienced construction attorney, Horn has represented hundreds of homeowners in arbitration and court proceedings against Toll Brothers and many other area homebuilders.
Many of the defective homes were built between 2002 and 2005, at the peak of the housing boom around Philadelphia and its suburbs. For years since then, those homes have been rotting from the inside out. Water damage has caused millions of dollars worth of damage and has jeopardized the health and well-being of the homeowners and their families, as well as their financial investment in their home.
“In an effort to get as many homes built as quickly as possible, builders rushed the production of homes, used lower-grade materials, and violated building codes,” Horn said. “They should be held accountable for the damage that those ill-advised choices caused.”
An investigation by The Philadelphia Inquirer found that at least 27 different builders in Southeastern Pennsylvania sold houses that were plagued by leaks through stucco and around windows and other points of entry. “Rushed production, under-trained workers, lower-quality materials, and lax oversight by builders and code inspectors had left more than 650 homeowners in at least 55 zip codes in houses damaged by water and requiring extensive repairs,” the investigation found.