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Review 9/13/2011
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We were approached about 6 years ago by this office who was doing a class action suit against a builder in Roseville. We have lived in our home since 2002, and are one of the few remaining original buyers in our development. At first we ignored the law firm's mailings, but a friend in real estate told us that these kinds of class actions are commonplace, and development companies are required to insure new developments for 10 years against builder defects. He advised that since the class action wouldn't require money out of our pockets, it wouldn't hurt us to go ahead and see if we could get some kind of compensation for the defects we were experiencing. Initially there was a lot of activity, letters, etc., on this. We even received a letter from the developer offering to fix the defects, but the law firm had advised us against settling because it would weaken the class action lawsuit. That was almost 4 years ago. About two years ago, a team of inspectors hired the development company's firm came to our house, with a representative from our class action law firm, to go through our house and document defects. It appeared that things were coming to fruition. We were told that we should be getting a letter within six months containing a final offer on the class action, and we were to sign the agreement asap and return it so it wouldn't avoid delays in payments. We had to do this twice, because the law firm claimed it didn't receive the first release. According to the documentation, we should have received between $5,000 - $7,500 by now; however, I wonder now if we should have let the development company fix the defects 4 years ago, because damage has only gotten worse. It's been over a year since we learned of the settlement amount, and we still haven't received any settlement money nor heard from anyone at the law firm. They don't respond to emails -- apparently they don't even open them, because I tagged them for "confirm receipt." When I call, I have to go through a labyrinth of automated messages before I can leave a voicemail, which is never returned. I don't think I've ever reached a live person. Next year it will be our 10th year in the house, and the builder's insurance policy will expire. My suggestion to you would be to write a letter to the developer saying that you've been approached for a class action lawsuit, and see if they will work with you directly to resolve any problems you have. Good luck.
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