Funny you mention you are in Texas. That is where KB built homes on land that had live land mines on it. But then again, some people just love to complain......
Friday, November 9, 2001
Arlington residents sue KB Home
Dallas Business Journal
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Sixty-four homeowners in Arlington are suing Los Angeles-based homebuilder
KB Home (NYSE: KBH) for not disclosing that the Southridge Hills subdivision was built on the site of a former military bombing practice range, according to the plaintiffs' attorneys Friday.
The lawsuit, filed in State District Court in Tarrant County, charges KB Home with common law fraud, gross negligence and negligence, Dallas law firm Weiner, Glass & Reed L.L.P. said in a press release.
The homeowners also are seeking rescission of their purchase agreements for their homes and an award of compensatory damages, as well as compensation for mental anguish, lawyers said. They are also seeking exemplary damages in the amount of $65 million.
According to plaintiffs' attorneys, the land that KB Home developed into the Southridge Hills subdivision was once owned by the U.S. government and was part of a naval training range. Commonly known as Five Points Field, it was used as a military practice bombing range during World War II, the firm said.
The government sold the property in 1956. Lawyers said in its deed to the purchaser, the U.S. government acknowledged that the property was subject to contamination by the introduction of unexploded bombs, shells, rockets, mines and charges. The government recommended that the target impact area be restricted to "above surface'' use only, the firm said.
The homeowners allege that when KB Home bought the land in the late 1990s and started the Southridge Hills subdivision, KB Home had actual knowledge that the U.S. Navy had used the land as a practice bombing range and that there were dangerous unexploded ordnances in the ground. The lawsuit also alleges that KB Home ignored the recommendation of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to hire an unexploded ordnance contractor to remove the subsurface bombs from the site prior to any development.
The Southridge Hills homeowners claim that at the point of sale KB Home, acting by and through their agents and employees, intentionally withheld the information from the plaintiffs that the homes they were purchasing were built on top of a bombing site and that the area had contained a number of subsurface, unexploded bombs. Had the defendants disclosed the information, the plaintiffs would not have purchased homes in the Southridge Hills subdivision, attorneys said.
In a statement issued Friday, KB Home said it had been assured that the Southridge land was safe before it began building and that it would work to achieve a quick resolution to the homeowners' concerns.
"Before a single home was built at Southridge, we received assurances from the U.S. military and an independent consultant that there was no reason to believe there were any hazardous substances at the property as a result of its military use 50 years ago," KB Home said in the statement. "We relied on such assurances and concluded that the community was fully safe for new home construction.
"Our company would never have chosen to build on this land if we'd been given any reason to believe the site posed any sort of risk to homeowners," it added. "The safety and well being of the individuals and families who put their trust in KB Homes is, and will always be, our first priority.
"We have been working and continue to work on our homeowners' behalf to achieve a prompt resolution with the Army Corps of Engineers. The lawsuit filed today does nothing to deter us from our mission of working to ensure these families' complete satisfaction and peace of mind," KB Homes said.
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