Arbitrators found private contractors showed
"lack of care or concern for families" living in mold-infested
military housing
SAN
ANTONIO, July 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A U.S.
Army sergeant's family forced into arbitration over medical
problems and economic losses caused by their toxic, mold-infested
military housing at Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood) has been awarded $10.3 million, according to their lawyers at
Guerra LLP and Pulman, Cappuccio & Pullen, LLP.
In an interim award Monday, an American Arbitration Association
(AAA) panel ordered respondents Fort Hood Family Housing LP, FHFH,
Inc., and Lendlease US Public Partnerships, LLC to pay economic
damages, mental anguish damages, attorneys' fees, and pre-judgment
interest to claimants Sgt. Jason
Kiernan and Sarah Kiernan and
their three children.
The arbitrators ruled that the companies showed a "lack of care
or concern for families living in military housing." Evidence in
the case indicated Fort Hood Family Housing employees used numeric
codes in company maintenance reports to hide references to mold and
withheld the company's prior knowledge of construction or design
defects that promoted mold growth in Fort Cavazos homes.
The Kiernan family is represented by Frank Guerra, Robert
Brzezinski, and Jennifer Neal
of Guerra LLP; Ryan C. Reed, of
Pulman, Cappuccio & Pullen, LLP, in San Antonio, Texas; and Wes Johnson of Johnson
Reist, PLLC in Plano,
Texas.
According to court filings, the Kiernan family began
experiencing health effects of their mold-infested housing in early
2019 during Sarah Kiernan's
pregnancy. Two months later, their infant son was life-flighted to
Dell Children's Medical Center where he was hospitalized for 20
days. Weeks later, the Kiernans' older sons fell through a wall in
the home, exposing black mold in the walls.
The Kiernan family initially filed their claims in federal
court, alleging multiple causes of action against the military
housing companies including Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA)
violations; breach of statutory implied warranty of habitability;
breach of contract; negligence; negligent misrepresentation; gross
negligence; statutory fraud in a real estate
transaction; common law fraud; unjust enrichment; and
violations of the Texas Property Code.
The Kiernans' dispute, along with many other military families,
arose due to complaints about the living conditions at Fort Hood
Family Housing under the Military Housing Privatization Act. A
federal court judge found that the lease agreements signed by
servicemembers at Fort Cavazos required disputes to be arbitrated,
pursuant to Section 18 of the Residential Lease Agreement.
"The overwhelming evidence revealed that Respondents' gave
Claimants a false sense of security that the home was properly
repaired and was safe for them to occupy with families and
infants," according to the panel which also found "false,
misleading, deceptive, and unconscionable conduct" by the companies
– and "contempt and a lack of concern for the Kiernans."
Frank Guerra, of Guerra LLP,
said, "This important ruling proves that military families like the
Kiernans have the right to expect safe homes and they are right in
holding these companies accountable. Mold is a terrible risk to
those exposed to it at home – and the evidence shows these
companies could not have cared less."
Ryan C. Reed, of Pulman,
Cappuccio & Pullen, LLP, said, "The Kiernans are grateful that
their concerns and those of other military families were heard by
the arbitration panel. We hope this case is an important step
forward in helping address the nation's military housing crisis.
Our service members and their families cannot be expected to live
in fear of their homes and continue to be abused by the
corporate-controlled military housing system."
Jennifer A. Neal, of Guerra LLP,
said, "The private companies hired and paid to maintain base
housing must be held accountable for their deceptive conduct. We
consistently hear of this same pattern of behavior from military
families all over the country. We will continue to answer the call
in forcing these companies to do what they promised to do – provide
our service members safe housing."
Robert Brzezinski, of Guerra,
LLP, said, "No person, and certainly no serving member of our
country's military or their loved ones, should ever be gaslighted
by their landlord about a supposedly safe home which is, in fact,
riddled with mold, water leaks, and other unsafe conditions. This
is a small but significant step in the fight to provide military
families with a safe roof over their heads."
The panel found that the Kiernans shall recover economic damages
of $2,361,963.27, trebled three
times, for a total award of economic damages in the amount of
$7,085,889.81; mental anguish damages
valued in the amount of $974,081.75,
which is trebled, in the amount of $2,922,245.25; attorneys' fees and costs to be
determined at a later date; pre-judgment interest in the amount of
$304,517.07; and; post-judgment
interest.
The case is Jason Kiernan v.
Fort Hood Family Housing LP, FHFH, Inc., and Lendlease US Public
Partnerships, LLC, AAA Case No. 01-22-0005-4250.
Contact: Erin Powers, Powers
MediaWorks LLC, for Guerra LLP, 281.703.6000 or
info@powersmediaworks.com.
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/guerra-llp-army-family-awarded-10-3-million-over-toxic-fort-cavazos-housing-302189122.html
SOURCE Guerra LLP