In June, 2002, this firm, along with Bud Watson and Ralph Hornsby Jr., of Hornsby, Watson, Hornsby and Blackwell, represented Lucille Devers, against Greystone Assisted Living Facility and Terminix International in this horrific case.
The case resulted in a jury verdict of 5.35 million dollars. The verdict is the highest non-death jury verdict in the history of Madison County, Alabama.
In the wake of the fire ant attack, Ms. Devers suffered profound and permanent psychological injuries in addition to the pains and scarring of the actual stings. She had been hospitalized for 84 days and underwent 16 electroshock treatments by the time this case went to trial.
In eight days of testimony, the jury was presented with evidence that assisted care facilities in Alabama were under a non-delegable, statutory duty to keep their facilities free of fire ants and other pests. The jury was also presented with substantial evidence to conclude that the attack on Ms. Devers was actually the second such attack and that the first fire ant attack had been cleaned up and suppressed from her family.
The jury also learned that Terminix International violated their own polices and procedures in providing their monthly services to Greystone. Our investigation revealed that Terminix International spent as little as 8 minutes servicing the building Ms. Devers resided in when it should have taken at least 45 minutes.
We also proved that Terminix International only applied preventive treatment measures on 2 out of 50 service calls in violation of their own policies and procedures. Terminix International created a scheme encourage their service technicians to take short-cuts by paying them bonuses for merely visiting an account without any regard for whether the account was treated properly. Furthermore, we proved that supervisors and managers at Terminix International intentionally ignored these failures because their own bonuses were directly tied to the speed with which the technicians serviced accounts.
Evidence at trial proved that despite the gruesome attack on Ms. Devers in August, 1999, Terminix International had not changed one thing about the time they spend or the way they apply chemicals at their other commercial accounts which include nursing homes, hospitals, day-care centers and churches.
Two elements of this case stand out as some of the most appalling corporate conduct in memory. First, Terminix International spent only 9 minutes servicing Ms. Devers' building on the very next scheduled service call after she had been attacked. Second, even though a 3 million dollar lawsuit had been pending for over two years against Terminix Interntional, no one in a supervisory role had ever reviewed the Greystone treatment records to even see if they had done anything wrong until a mere 11 days before trial.
Lucille Devers was a resident of Greystone in August, 1999. Greystone had contracted with Terminix to provide the facility with monthly pest control services. One morning in August, 1999, Ms. Devers was found in her bed covered by thousands of fire ants. She was bitten and stung by the fire ants hundreds of times inside and outside her body. The testimony of Linda Law, the Greystone employee who discovered Ms. Devers covered in fire ants was some of the most compelling and unnerving testimony ever heard in any courtroom.
This firm was selected to represent the interests of a sitting United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Alabama and his family regarding serious structural problems in the construction of their personal residence.
During the construction process, a small depression in the floor was discovered that prompted and inspection by a structural engineer. At that time, the structural engineer determined the structure was in danger of collapsing. Upon completing our structural analysis after being retained, 3 separate threats of collapse were discovered which posed a direct threat to the health, welfare and safety of the family and the workers in the project. Fatal flaws in both the design and the construction of the residence were identified and corrected before anyone was seriously injured.
Suit was brought against the architects responsible for designing the plans and the contractor supervising the construction. After extensive litigation, including the retention of experts in architecture, construction, engineering, property valuation and three-dimensional computer animation to illustrate the design and construction defects, the claim was settled for a confidential amount.
We represented a young couple whose home was poisoned with a toxic pesticide in May of 2001. Heritage Pest Control had been providing the termite bond on the house. On one of their annual inspections, Heritage Pest Control found a wood decaying fungus in the crawl space and told the couple it could be treated with Timbor, a bleach-water like substance. Since the couple was expecting, they asked if the fungus treatment presented any kind of health risk, and they were assured the fungus treatment was harmless.
However, the Heritage Pest Control technician who was sent to perform the fungus treatment had not been properly trained. He was sent to perform the fungus treatment on only his fourth day working for Heritage. The technician was given Dursban, instead of Timbor, to kill the fungus. The technician sprayed the home with about 100 gallons of the toxic Dursban solution. If the home had been properly treated by Heritage with Timbor, less than 20 gallons would have been needed. Dursban attacks the central nervous system causing suffocation and coma, and can be especially deadly to children and small animals.
When our clients returned home the fumes were overwhelming. Heritage assured them the smell was normal and that they should just open some windows. After only a couple of hours, our clients abandoned the house and checked into a motel. This probably saved their lives. The couple never returned to their home because of the pesticide.
Our investigation revealed that Heritage employees, at the direction of Virgil Stewart, routinely misused Chemicals in Madison County homes. We also learned from Stewart's employees that he specifically instructed his employees to use dangerous pesticides for fungus treatments and to then falsify the paperwork to prevent regulators from the State of Alabama from discovering the fraud. Stewart now operates Stewart's Pest Control, Inc.
This case, after substantial litigation and expense, was settled for over $450,000.
When a Madison County couple purchased a residence for $60,000.00 intending to renovate and expand the existing house, their plans were thwarted due to the fraud of Northwest Termite & Pest Control, Inc.
Northwest provided a termite letter to our clients stating the residence had been inspected and was free of termite damage. In reality, Northwest lied about performing any kind of inspection. In the course of confessing to the fraud, Northwest admitted the inspection graph of the residence was falsified. Inspection graphs typically represent an overhead footprint of the foundation and reference any signs of termite infestation. The inspection graph (shown at right) generated by Northwest in this case depicted the house drawn from the side and even included windows! The house actually suffered from more than $35,000.00 in termite damage that should have been reported to the buyers.
This firm brought suit against Northwest who had a long line of prior complaints and claims for negligence and fraud. In our investigation, Northwest ultimately admitted to lying about performing an inspection and deceiving our clients.
After this firm successfully obtained a pre-trial order from a Madison County Circuit Judge finding Northwest guilty of negligence, fraud and deceptive trade practices, a settlement for $150,000.00 was then reached.
This firm represented an apartment complex in Madison County against Orkin Exterminating Company in 1999. Orkin charged the complex to drill and treat the individual buildings for termites and then failed to drill an adequate number of holes or to apply a sufficient amount of chemical.
This firm was able to prove that many of the vertical holes drilled in the buildings failed to penetrate the concrete which would prevent any chemical from being applied. Chemical analysis performed by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries demonstrated the absence of any pesticide behind holes that did penetrate the concrete.
At trial, this firm proved Orkin violated more than seven regulations in their handling of the apartment complex treatment. Evidence was also presented which indicated Orkin management knew of the practices and that the same practice was widespread in the Huntsville Branch during the same time period.
An arbitrator awarded our Client more than $2.6 million dollars.
3. Homeowners in Madison County purchased a used residence for approximately $120,000.00. Inspection reports were performed and delivered to the purchasers by a home inspector, appraiser and termite company. None of the reports indicated a problem with termites or wood decaying fungus in or under the residence.
120 days after purchasing the home, over $20,000.00 in termite and wood decaying fungus damage was discovered in the home extending from the foundation to the roof along the rear wall of the home.
Both Defendants vigorously defended the case by arguing the termite infestation and wood decaying fungus was not present until after they inspected the home.
Claims were successfully litigated against the termite operator and the home inspector which resulted in a negotiated settlement of over $80,000.00.
4. A woman purchased a home in Cullman County for approximately $30,000.00 and received a termite letter at closing which failed to reveal any signs of termite infestation or termite damage.
Shortly after closing the main support beam under the living room floor failed due to termite damage. The estimated cost to repair of the home to exceed the purchase price.
Claims were brought against the termite operator for fraud and negligence. Evidence was marshaled which proved the fifty year-old home had been moved to the site and placed on a new foundation less than ten years prior to the sale to our client. The evidence showed there were no signs of termite infestation on the new foundation blocks under the house. The evidence proved that there was no way for the termite damage to have occurred without leaving termite tubes on the new foundation blocks, therefore the termite infestation was present prior to the house being relocated. Faced with this evidence, the termite inspector confessed he did not inspect the residence before issuing the letter.
The case was settled through negotiation for $70,000.00.
5. A Madison County couple purchased a three year-old home for approximately $285,000.00 and received a termite letter that indicated there was no prior termite infestation or damage in the home.
Approximately 10 months after purchasing the home, our Clients discovered termite infestation and damage while doing a remodeling project. The repair cost was relatively minor, amounting to less than $5,000.00.
In addition, our Clients anticipated being transferred to another city for work within a few years and would have to re-list the home and disclose the prior infestation and damage.
Evidence demonstrated how the local termite company which issued the letter had pre-treated the house when it was originally constructed with about one-half of the necessary chemical. In addition, the house had suffered a termite infestation in the same place prior to our clients purchasing the home which was noted within the termite company's files but was with held from the termite letter. Finally, this firm was able to demonstrate how the same company had been previously sanctioned by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries for using only a fraction of the necessary chemical in treating homes.
After filing suit against the termite operator, who denied all of the allegations, a settlement was reached for $42,000.00 prior to trial.
6. Homeowners purchased a starter home in Madison County for approximately $80,000.00 and received a termite letter at closing which showed no prior termite activity.
The local company which pre-treated the home and issued our Clients the termite letter at their closing was bought out by a regional competitor who continued to inspect the home for a higher fee for several years thereafter.
Our Clients noticed termites swarming on the outside of their home in the spring and contacted the new termite company. Large areas of termite damage were discovered after siding was removed from the home that reached to the second level of the home.
The termite company refused to repair the damage on the basis that the termite infestation had not been visible prior to the swarms appearing because of a stucco-type plaster which covered the foundation permitted the termites to infest the house without being seen.
Claims were brought against the regional pest control operator for negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation. The termite company denied the allegations saying the house was built defectively.
This firm was able to prove that the pest control industry, as a whole, has been aware that stucco-type coverings on foundations prevent an adequate inspection from being performed since the early 1990s. In addition, this firm had evidence that the same pest control company had instituted an internal policy whereby their own salesmen refused to issue new bonds on homes if the foundations were obscured by coverings, yet continued to collect annual inspection revenue from homes that were acquired through the buyout which had the same conditions.
Our Clients alleged that if they had been told the pest control operator could not see what he needed to see in order to determine whether the residence was infested, they would have either removed the siding or not continued to pay for worthless inspections year after year.
The case was settled short of litigation for approximately $30,000.00.
7. This firm handled three cases against the same local pest control company for Clients residing on the same street in a Madison County subdivision. Each home was worth approximately $80,000.00.
Each home had been subject to repeated termite infestations and multiple re-treatments which failed to prevent the termites from returning.
Suit was filed against the local termite operator for negligent treatment and fraud.
Evidence was gathered which demonstrated that the entire subdivision had been pre-treated by this company in the same year. After issuing multiple subpoenas, this firm was able to prove that the termite operator had only purchased 25% of the necessary chemical to treat the homes originally. Soil testing also revealed an insufficient amount of chemical being used in the re-treatments to meet state standards.
Each of the cases were litigated extensively due to the denials of the Defendant. Each of the cases settled just prior to the commencement of trial for approximately the entire value of each home, individually.