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The news has recently reported that after the ground stopped its' initial slide as a result of the retaining wall failure at the subdivision of River Mist in San Antonio, a different type of maneuvering began — legal maneuvering. Some local attorneys, unfortunately felt complied to go from door to door knocking on doors or calling homeowners and begging owners to meet to discuss their claims.

Our Law Firm would have preferred that some of these lawyers should have conducted themselves with more respect to the homeowner, themselves and the profession.  

If you need an experienced legal opinion and do not want to interact with one of the door knocking attorneys, call our Law Firm. Attorney Scott Tschirhart has years and years of experience in this area of the law and our attorneys will meet with you for free and without obligation.  While we do believe that homeowners will needs legal counsel, we believe that you should select an attorney that will give and treat you with the proper respect and who has respect for himself and the profession.

With 27 homes evacuated and cracks in the earth, it is a situation that will require legal counsel.  For a legal fight lies ahead of the property owners for it is not yet clear whether homeowners in The Hills of River Mist will be able to turn to the courts for assistance.  For it appears that the homeowners signed an arbitration agreement. Binding arbitration agreements are common during the purchase of a new home.
Arbitration can keep disputes out of the courts and away from the public, however it is uncertain if the arbitration clause will be enforced under the circumstances.

Additionally, it is not clear whether engineers, construction firms and others would be covered by developer and builder Centex Homes' arbitration agreement.  In our opinion there are a host of potentially liable defendants that may or may not be covered by the arbitration agreement.  It is possible that some claimants could end up with a portion of their case or claims in arbitration and part in court.

Homeowners hoping their insurance companies will come to the rescue likely are out of luck, for few, if any, Texas issued home owners insurance policies cover the “movement or shifting of the earth.

Residents who do sue will have a more direct path to arbitration or the courts than they would have had a few months ago.The Texas Residential Construction Commission — an often criticized and controversial agency — closed its doors in the fall. The TRCC would have been the first avenue for homeowner-builder disputes. Homeowners and builders often went through the agency and ended up in arbitration or court anyway. With the agency gone, the state now returns to the Residential Construction Liability Act. Case law has established an implied warranty of workmanlike construction and habitability in homebuilding.

Claims that go beyond construction defects, such as complaints about loss of value, are currently being reviewed by our Office in addition to the homeowners cases our Firm has already accepted.

Residents may also consider making a claim under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act if it can be shown that the development was advertised one way but built another. There's also a chance that someone homeowners may be able to make a “fraud in real estate” claim.