“We agree with the Court’s order to compel arbitration, as it is the appropriate process for resolving these claims. We remain committed to working through the HOA-related matters in the appropriate forum.” Cisneros described the damage as severe for homes that are two and three years old. “I have military veterans who literally put their entire retirement investment into their home. Their homes have been devastatingly damaged and are experiencing cracking and other damage that I’ve never seen in my career for homes that are literally two and three years old,” he said. Cisneros said he plans to meet Monday with other attorneys representing homeowners and the HOA to strategize next steps.

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Clark County District Court judge ruled this week in favor of developer Pulte Group, ordering a construction defect case involving dozens of Lake Las Vegas homeowners to move to arbitration.

About 50 homeowners in the Del Webb Lake Las Vegas 55+ community are taking legal action against the developer, claiming faulty construction has caused their homes to crack and sink. Attorney Norberto Cisneros, who represents multiple homeowners, said that number continues to grow as he has been contacted by new potential clients in recent weeks.

MORE ON FOX5: Lake Las Vegas homeowners head to court over alleged construction defects

“We are disappointed. Obviously, we wanted the judge to keep the case in court and give us a right to trial by jury,” Cisneros said.

The homeowners and their HOA claim the soil their homes were built on was not properly compacted, causing problems throughout individual homes and common areas of the community.

Ongoing problems since 2020

Homeowner John Lenihan said he has observed issues since 2020.

“From the start of this in 2020, I’ve looked at the hillsides, the drainage, the rockery walls, the settlement of the soil,” Lenihan said.

Lenihan said there needs to be a collective plan to fix the underlying issues causing the problems.

“I understand what the developer wants to do is they want to minimize cost… It took a lawsuit to make them understand this is serious,” he said.

The parties faced off in court, with attorneys for the HOA arguing the contract provisions are unfair and unconscionable. The judge enforced the arbitration clause citing the purchase agreements and the community’s CC&Rs.

“Unfortunately, he enforced the arbitration clause that’s within the purchase agreements as well as the CC&Rs for the community. So we’re still wondering how we’re going to actually hold the arbitration in Las Vegas or whether we’re going to have to be shipped out to Phoenix,” Cisneros said.

Developer responds

Pulte Group shared a statement:

“We agree with the Court’s order to compel arbitration, as it is the appropriate process for resolving these claims. We remain committed to working through the HOA-related matters in the appropriate forum.”

Cisneros described the damage as severe for homes that are two and three years old.

“I have military veterans who literally put their entire retirement investment into their home. Their homes have been devastatingly damaged and are experiencing cracking and other damage that I’ve never seen in my career for homes that are literally two and three years old,” he said.

Cisneros said he plans to meet Monday with other attorneys representing homeowners and the HOA to strategize next steps.