Homeowners Get Class Action Lawsuit Against Ryland Homes

May 23, 2006

WESH.com - Winter Park,FL

POSTED: 12:13 pm EDT May 23, 2006

Thousands of local homeowners might be asked to join a lawsuit over

hurricane damage. The suit just moved forward and could get a lot

bigger.

The WESH 2 I-Team spent countless hours exposing building flaws that

led to major problems during the 2004 hurricanes. That brutal trio

of hurricanes made many Ryland homeowners aware of water leaks in

their new homes.

Now a judge's decision to grant their lawsuit class action status

against the homebuilder may help many riled Ryland owners recover

the unexpected expense of getting the damage fixed.

" I think it's terrific, " said Brodsky, a Ryland homeowner.

She said the water problems in her family's new Ryland home forced

them to make major repairs.

" We tore out the kitchen cabinets, and we had mold, and we had

water, and the window sills were soaked, and the drywall was soaked,

and there was mold everywhere, " she said.

Of the class action suit a Ryland Homes spokesperson told WESH 2

News, " Ryland respects the judge's decision and feels confident the

process will show that our homes performed well during the

unprecedented onslaught of three back-to-back hurricanes. "

Brodsky and other homeowners argue that shoddy workmanship sealing

outside walls of their Ryland homes is what lead to the water coming

in, not just the hurricanes.

" Before the hurricanes even hit I wondered why the tile in my

kitchen always looked wet when I hadn't mopped the floor, " Brodsky

said.

Now that the lawsuit has class action status, a lawyer for the

plaintiff said he'll be able to go back to Ryland and get them to

cough up a list of people who had their homes built between the end

of 1999 and March 2005. With those names, the lawyer will be able to

send letters out, and the lawsuit could get much much larger.

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