Dozens of homes at Lake Las Vegas are sinking and causing damage, lawsuit alleges

Nearly 90 homes could be sinking at Lake Las Vegas, causing significant structural damage and safety concerns, according to a new lawsuit, however the builder of the properties disputes the severity of the issue.

The Del Webb at Lake Las Vegas Community Association filed a business court complaint late last year — which has kicked off a protracted and complicated legal battle — on behalf of dozens of homeowners at the 55-plus master-planned community for what they are alleging is construction defects against Pulte Homes of Nevada, a subsidiary of Pulte Group.

Lake Las Vegas is a 3,600-acre master-planned community spearheaded by a number of large homebuilders in Henderson and features a 320-acre manmade lake. There are roughly 4,500 homes at the community with construction currently ongoing on various residential projects. The original project was conceived back in the 1960s, however went through decades of legal frustrations and bankruptcy before slowly taking off in the mid-2010s when new investors came in.

The lawsuit filed in December of last year alleges breach of contract, and William Coulthard, one of the attorneys representing the homeowners’ association, said the main crux of the issue they have with the builder is related to safety issues with some of the homes’ retaining walls.

“Some of the backyards in the community are sinking, resulting in significant damage,” he said. “And these are peoples’ retirement dream homes that have turned into their worst nightmare. Fortunately it’s not every home but there are a lot of homes out there that are sinking, shifting, subsiding, cracking and it’s continuing, and Pulte wants to put their head in the sand and say that everything is performing as it’s supposed to, and that’s just not true.”

In an email statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Ally Boyle, a senior manager of corporate communications with Pulte Group Inc., said the company stands behind the homes that it built and has been working directly with homeowners to address construction-related concerns.

“Repairs have been completed or are underway with 43 homeowners representing less than 5 percent of the homes in this community,” she said. “It is disappointing that the HOA has chosen a different path that financially rewards its legal team rather than partner with us to quickly correct any remaining issues in the community. Our commitment is to continue working with our homeowners to address any remaining construction-related concerns.”

Boyle also said that Del Webb engaged an independent, third-party expert who confirmed that the rockery walls continue to perform consistently with their original engineering specifications, however Coulthard said this is not true and someone simply has to go out and see the defects to confirm it.

“All you have to do is go out and look at the severe damage to dozens, probably 40 to 50 homes that are suffering major subsidence underneath their post-tensions slabs,” he said.

He said Pulte built homes on land that was not suitable for construction and now are having to deal with the repercussions of its actions while trying to silence homeowners who have been impacted.

“The topography of where they built this community, it was on a steep, rocky, alluvial fan (an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments) with canyons and hillsides, and (the builders) levelled it all,” he said. “And part of the lots where some of the homes are built have 40 to 50 feet of fill and we believe there are compaction issues and hydrocollapsable soils throughout that community.”

A press release regarding the lawsuit from the homeowners’ legal team detailed the allegations. In March, a Clark County District Court judge heard oral arguments regarding Pulte’s motion to push the case to arbitration, to which the association filed a counter motion. There is no word on when a decision from the judge could come, said Coulthard, who added they had a company come and assess the allege issues — American Geotechnical, Inc. — who documented significant movement in the slopes and structures they support.

He added homes above and adjacent to the large retaining walls are also producing visible damage to foundations, walls, patios, ceilings, and exterior finishes.

Coulthard said Pulte was not upfront with the homeowners association as to their legal rights under arbitration and did not adequately warn them of soil issues during the homebuying process. He said the homeowners’ association does not want to do arbitration with Pulte and are taking a different route to resolve the dispute.

“Our clients deserve their day in a Nevada courtroom, before a Nevada judge and jury, not a private forum chosen by the very company they are suing,” he said in a press release regarding the lawsuit