$815,000 leaky homes victory
A Wellington couple's Wairarapa dream home has been rebuilt from a leaky house of horrors - and the $815,000 cheque is now in the mail to pay for it.
Thursday, May 19th 2005, 7:10AM
by The Landlord
Just hours before a two-week civil case was to have begun in the High Court on Monday against the designer, builder, and local council, the insurer for designer Spencer Holmes Ltd signed the agreement to settle the case.Such out-of-court settlements are normally confidential but one of the home's owners, Chris Street, insisted on being able to talk about it.
The outcome might have been different had Mr Street not been a lawyer. The more than 750 hours he spent preparing the case has paid off for him and partner Michelle Groves. The settlement covers all their costs plus some to mark the stress they endured.
Mr Street knows the grans and solo mums who have sunk their life savings into leaky homes will not be so lucky. The court process did not unnerve him, even though it is tortuous and painfully slow.
Mr Street said the Government-instituted leaky homes resolution process would never have recovered his costs for him and he thinks it is a second-rate solution for most people.
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