Gravely & Pearson, LLP Alleges Widespread Allstate Abuse for Hundreds of San Antonio Area Policyholders
"We believe that over the course of several years, Allstate's policyholders were systematically underpaid for the foundation and water damage to their homes," said Pearson. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over four hundred San Antonio households had claims handled by Bruton where fraudulent payments were made to Villarreal's company and the funds were kicked back to Bruton. As part of their sentencing, Bruton and Villarreal were ordered to pay back over one million dollars in restitution. "We believe this money ought to go to the policyholders that were victims of Allstate's systematic underpayment," says Pearson.

Soil disclosures a quagmire for area real estate agents
Realtors say they have enough pages of disclosures to give potential home buyers, handing them more pages about soil disclosures would scare them away from investing in Pahrump...The ordinance requires the seller of a parcel to disclose to the buyer about a 2004 study that identified large areas of Pahrump Valley where moisture-sensitive soils are present that may be subject to expansion, hydro-collapse or subsidence. It requires the seller to tell the buyer whether a geo-technical report has been prepared for their property. It also requires informing buyers that the Pahrump Valley is in an "overdraft" situation, causing the water table to drop an average of one foot per year.  Related information: Foundation Problems, a Growing Problem

KPRC Investigates How Politicians Spend Contributions
Local 2 investigates just how politicians are spending the contributions made to their campaigns. The station discovered that it's not all yard signs, bumper stickers and television ads. KPRC Local 2 investigative reporter Amy Davis spent two months digging through campaign expense reports. View Investigative Report

SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT: Steel House Investigation
Authorities are trying to track down a steel businessman who they say made a business of stealing. He's suspected of defrauding homeowners and businesses in Georgia and 8 other states and 2 foreign countries. They paid for steel building construction that was either never done or only partially completed..."I have been through hell and back again. I wake up at night and I can't sleep. All I think about is Andrew Stallman," ... "It's heart sickening. You work all your life and pay something off as you go and you end up with something like this," says Audrey...And Stallman made no exceptions on who he'd take money from. Beaver Ruin Baptist Church in Duluth paid him more than $76,000...

Home Depot Investigation
It's America's biggest home improvement store and, now, the country's biggest home remodeling contractor. But after hearing horror stories from consumers about The Home Depot and its remodeling services, Investigator Joel Grover decided to go undercover. NBC4 has done a lot of stories about small, fly-by-night contractors. But this is a story about a company millions of Americans trust and many of them hire The Home Depot to remodel their kitchens, put on new roofs, and do other home repairs. But NBC4's investigation found that behind the big name are some big questions about how this company does business.

Addendum on Bob Perry
On Election Day November 7th, The Associated Press reported in "The York Dispatch" that Pennsylvania Republican Gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann received $100 thousand from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry during the final two weeks of the state's Governor's campaign...Governor Ed Rendell, had vetoed legislation this past March, that would have implemented legal procedures similar to those in Texas that now send homebuyer/homebuilder disputes into Arbitration instead of civil courts.

The motive behind Swift Boat ad man Bob Perry's political donations
Those who follow Texas politics might call Houston homebuilder Bob Perry a modern day kingmaker. Although Perry skips pomp, circumstance and much of the flashy nonsense associated with kingmakers past and present, he is a formidable force in the Lone Star State and is fast becoming one in states across the union...But Ahmed says she thinks the busloads of elderly lobbyist were in fact brought in, fed breakfast and along the way, educated by pro-business coaches about so-called frivolous lawsuits, in what Ahmed believes was smoke and mirrors politics move that was meant to promote tort reform specifically favorable to home builders and developers. Ahmed says the Austin tort reform blitz was organized by the group Texas For Lawsuit Reform (TLR), run by Richard Weekly. Richard Weekly is the brother of homebuilder/developer David Weekly. She and others say that Tort reform efforts in Texas were bankrolled directly and through political donations by David Weekly and Houston developer and Republican money man, Bob Perry.

Politicians Give Campaign Contributions To Each Other
Nov. 8, 2006: The election watch parties and the victory celebrations are all paid for with campaign contributions. But KPRC Local 2 investigates how elected officials are spending their campaign cash. Some politicians give some of their contributions to each other. Investigative Report

Be wary when a builder offers a home mortgage
Thinking of buying a new home in this softer market? Chances are your builder is going to try to sell you a mortgage. Builders have long encouraged their customers to use their mortgage affiliate for financing, and not just to make a little extra money. It also gives them control of the transaction, making it less likely that a mortgage snafu will create problems at closing. Now, as sales slow and cancellations rise, builders are increasingly rolling out special deals that may be tied to using their affiliated lender.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recognized the lack of quality control in homebuilding
"There is no adequate monitoring mechanism to catch quality deficiencies before they get out of control… inspections alone do not necessarily equate with quality."...Has the Quality of Homebuilding gotten any better since a January, 2003 Roundtable?

Flowery Branch lawyer faces up to 22 years for fraud, ID theft
Peebles was a plaintiff's lawyer who specialized in construction litigation and represented many who suffered physical injury and property damage due to mold infestations in their homes. Unbeknownst to his clients, Peebles would settle their cases, forge their signatures on the checks, and eventually convert the money to his own use. When the clients called and asked about the settlement money, Peebles would lie to them, and if necessary, pay the complaining client with settlement proceeds that belonged to his other clients.

Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Stealing $800K
A North Georgia lawyer on Monday pleaded guilty to federal charges that he stole $800,000 from clients to pay his bills, make home repairs and cover his girlfriend's rent and utilities...Federal prosecutors said Peebles, 56, would settle the cases without telling his clients, then forge his clients' signatures on the settlement checks and use the money to pay his own expenses. The settlements were intended to pay for the clients' home repairs and for medical treatment related to inhaling mold fibers.

Airborne Fungal Reference For Building Evaluations Established
Air samples from in and around one thousand eight hundred fifty five (1, 855) buildings were collected by spore trap technique (Air-O-Cell) over a period of 10 years (1995-2005) covering 45 states of North America. Nine thousand two hundred thirty two (9,232) samples were analyzed qualitatively as well as quantitatively to study the air-borne fungi in and around building environment.