Back in 2004, actress Sandra Bullock won her case against the builder of her $6.5 million home, Benny Daneshjou of Daneshjou Construction. The victory was celebrated, not just by fans of the actress, but by dozens of other homeowners in the Austin area who had similar complaints against Daneshjou.

Daneshjou Construction was the developer behind many multi-million dollar homes in the Austin area. Unhappy homeowners complained of costs overrun, shocking overcharges, deadlines ignored, and most of all defective construction.

At the trial, expert witness Clark Griffin, an architect from Boston, pointed out some obvious defects in the design that allowed for water intrusion and mold growth. A lack of flashing on the roof, defectively installed rock work, stucco and roofing materials causing damage to the framing, rotting OSB board used as sheathing – the list of shortcuts was a mile long.

You wouldn’t expect this laundry list of egregious mistakes in a three bedroom home, so why do they seem to be so common in multi-million dollar mansions?

One sad possibility is that the rich simply have more money, which allows them to fight their developers in court. So only the rich can afford justice while everyone else has to cut their losses? It seems so. The cost of going to trial is more than the average homeowner can afford. Most big national builders have mandatory arbitration in their contracts so their clients have difficulty suing. This is especially bad in Texas where tort reform and binding arbitration clauses in new home builder contracts have denied many with defective homes their day in court.

Daneshjou’s defense bounced around, at one point passing the blame to subcontractors and finally a vehement argument that despite the construction flaws they met minimum standards.

The other possibility is that it’s easier and more profitable to take shortcuts on larger projects. Using cheap materials for a small home could save a hundreds of dollars, but in a larger project, the developer is tempted to save thousands per shortcut. Given the size of mansions, it’s harder for occupants to notice problems than homeowners who more frequently visit all their rooms.

If you have mold due to developer or construction negligence and you are not a millionaire, my advice is to join a class action lawsuit. If the developer took advantage of you, it’s likely there are others in similar situations. This raises the stakes and attracts a legal team willing to help you out.

Tagged as: cheap materials, class action lawsuit, defective construction, home, mandatory arbitration, mold, mold growth, multi million dollar mansions, new home builder, roofing, roofing materials, Texas, unhappy homeowners, water intrusion