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Jerry Mcginty and Villas By Design, Inc v. Thomas J. Hennen

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Villas By Design built Thomas Hennen’s home. Shortly after moving in, Hennen noticed water leaks and, a few months later, mold. On his lawyer’s advice, the home was inspected and PE Services found significant contamination throughout the house. A Corpus Christi contractor estimated remedial costs to be in excess of $651,000.00, which included both the cost to rid the house of mold and the cost to rebuild areas of the house affected by that remediation. Hennen sued Villas for negligence, breach of express and implied warranties, breach of contract, and DTPA violations, among other claims. We must decide whether the evidence supports the jury’s damage finding.

For each claim, the jury was asked to find two damage awards: (1) the difference, as of the date of closing, in the value of the home as it was received and the value it would have had if it had been as represented, and (2) the reasonable and necessary cost to repair the home. The jury found the difference in value to be $262,885.83 and the reasonable and necessary cost of repair to be $651,230.72. The jury also awarded $750,000 in exemplary damages and $200,000 in attorney’s fees. The trial court granted Villas’ motion to disregard the jury finding regarding the date Hennen should have discovered the wrongful acts and found the DTPA and negligence claims barred by limitations, leaving only the breach-of-contract damages. The trial court denied Villas’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict in which it argued that no evidence supported that damage award.

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