$5.5 Million Settlement -
Class Action DTPA & Contract 2010
Benito Martinez, et al vs. Highland Homes, Ltd
Carl J. Kolb was the lead plaintiff's counsel, assisted by William H. Ford and Lori Massey. The client class received, after payment of attorneys' fees, approximately $3.9 Million. These class members' recoveries represented their actual loss, plus interest, even after attorneys' fees were paid. Benito Martinez, a subcontractor for Highland Homes, Ltd., was sued by a Highland Homes, Ltd., employee who fell through an attic. The employee alleged that Martinez, the framer responsible for the decking, had failed to lay plywood decking at the location where the fall occurred. Martinez claimed that Highland Homes, Ltd. had required a written agreement permitting Highland Homes, Ltd. to charge Martinez $17.00 per $1,000.00 of payroll for liability insurance to cover Martinez. Highland Homes, Ltd. denied that it was required to purchase insurance for Martinez. Martinez sought a declaration that Highland Homes, Ltd. had a duty to defend the employee's suit and to pay any judgment or settlement, and also conducted discovery concerning other subcontractors. Discovery revealed about 1800 additional subcontractors, roofers, landscapers, and framers, who had been charged a total amount of $3.5 Million dollars under identical agreements to deduct money from their payroll to purchase insurance to cover them. It was also discovered that, not only did Highland Homes, Ltd. not purchase any insurance for these subcontractors, but that Highland Homes, Ltd. had simply accrued the subcontractors' funds on its balance sheet as a liability fund, and had itself become "self-insured", cancelling its own liability insurance in order to save approximately $500,000.00 per year in premiums. The Honorable Andy Mireles, Presiding, certified the case as a class action, and Highland Homes, Ltd., appealed that certification to the Fourth Court of Appeals. On the day prior to oral arguments, at the third mediation, Highland Homes, Ltd. agreed to pay $5.5 Million, representing the amount withheld from the subcontractors' payroll, interest on that amount, and attorneys' fees. After attorneys' fees and expenses of $2.0 Million, the net recovery to the client class was $3.5 Million.
The case is reported in Zarin's Jury Verdict Review & Analysis Publications, Inc, and may be found at the following link: http://www.jvra.com/AsSeenAtJVR.aspx?ref=C80775D4-CB73-4B24-B8FE-4B3558A8DF90
Carl J. Kolb was the lead plaintiff's counsel, assisted by William H. Ford and Lori Massey. The client class received, after payment of attorneys' fees, approximately $3.9 Million. These class members' recoveries represented their actual loss, plus interest, even after attorneys' fees were paid. Benito Martinez, a subcontractor for Highland Homes, Ltd., was sued by a Highland Homes, Ltd., employee who fell through an attic. The employee alleged that Martinez, the framer responsible for the decking, had failed to lay plywood decking at the location where the fall occurred. Martinez claimed that Highland Homes, Ltd. had required a written agreement permitting Highland Homes, Ltd. to charge Martinez $17.00 per $1,000.00 of payroll for liability insurance to cover Martinez. Highland Homes, Ltd. denied that it was required to purchase insurance for Martinez. Martinez sought a declaration that Highland Homes, Ltd. had a duty to defend the employee's suit and to pay any judgment or settlement, and also conducted discovery concerning other subcontractors. Discovery revealed about 1800 additional subcontractors, roofers, landscapers, and framers, who had been charged a total amount of $3.5 Million dollars under identical agreements to deduct money from their payroll to purchase insurance to cover them. It was also discovered that, not only did Highland Homes, Ltd. not purchase any insurance for these subcontractors, but that Highland Homes, Ltd. had simply accrued the subcontractors' funds on its balance sheet as a liability fund, and had itself become "self-insured", cancelling its own liability insurance in order to save approximately $500,000.00 per year in premiums. The Honorable Andy Mireles, Presiding, certified the case as a class action, and Highland Homes, Ltd., appealed that certification to the Fourth Court of Appeals. On the day prior to oral arguments, at the third mediation, Highland Homes, Ltd. agreed to pay $5.5 Million, representing the amount withheld from the subcontractors' payroll, interest on that amount, and attorneys' fees. After attorneys' fees and expenses of $2.0 Million, the net recovery to the client class was $3.5 Million.
The case is reported in Zarin's Jury Verdict Review & Analysis Publications, Inc, and may be found at the following link: http://www.jvra.com/AsSeenAtJVR.aspx?ref=C80775D4-CB73-4B24-B8FE-4B3558A8DF90