The story was originally reported by CBS Denver. McKenzie Rhody’s very own, Cass Mckenzie, was the lawyer representing the couple.
Read the full article here.
Construction Defect Law: A Client’s Story
Recently, one of our clients was featured on local CBS Denver in a devastating story that depicts the realities of construction defects. It was reported in November of 2014 that a Denver couple, Cort Cagle and his wife, Cody Galloway, came home to find that one of the walls in their home had collapsed. With a baby on the way, the couple was shocked that this damage was caused by construction crews digging a foundation next door that disturbed the dirt that was holding up their home. The couple owns a two-story home on Glenarm Place.
Cass McKenzie said that multiple people made many mistakes including big errors in the shoring plans that were filed with the city.
The couple was denied a Homeowners Insurance claim from State Farm because “earth movement” is excluded under their policy.
Read more of their story below, and, if you have any questions about construction defect law, please give us a call at 1-800-996-1770.
From CBS Denver Local:
Construction crews were digging a foundation next door and disturbed the dirt that was holding up their home. A Denver couple is struggling financially and emotionally three months after a wall on their home collapsed.
The couple’s excitement over the arrival of their new baby is trumped by the stress of their evaporating savings and the loss of their home. A fence now surrounds the house because the city deemed it unsafe. The wall weighs 18,000 pounds and is leaning against the structure, so the city has placed an order to remove it.
Days before, they say they noticed JBC Enterprises digging and thought it would disturb the dirt under their older home’s shallow foundation. The couple says that they tried to prevent the horrible mistake by emailing the property manager. They claim they never received an email back.
Now rebar is exposed and the foundation of the home is eroded. You can see their things stored under the staircase of their home in plain sight, but what is most devastating is the loss of the nursery.
…
Andrea Burns, Communications Director for Denver Community Planning and Development, tells us the “International Building Code does not prescribe how shoring should be done.” She says the city does not review shoring plans, but they do make sure the plans were designed by a licensed engineer.
“We’re going to be taking a look at protocols in house and see if there are ways we can improve what we’re doing to prevent things like this from happening,” Burns said.
They have lost their house, their furniture, artwork, and everything else that makes a home, but still have each other and their baby on the way.