Builder caused sewer backup in new home, couple says

CHARLES TOWN - A Jefferson County couple blames a home building company after more than a foot of sewage flooded their new home.

Clyde and Tracy Singleton filed a suit March 22 in Jefferson Circuit Court, against NVR. Inc., doing business as Ryan Homes.

According to the suit, the Singletons bought a new home Sept. 29, 2006, for about $409,000. On Nov. 12, 2006, they claim to have "noticed an extremely obnoxious odor liken to an outhouse inside their residence," the suit says.

"They discovered that the basement level of their new home was consumed with approximately one foot of raw sewage, pollutants, dirty water, feces, dirt and debris," the suit says.

According to the suit, the Singletons had to immediately leave their home and could not return until Feb. 23, 2007. However, although they were not living there, they had to pay all the bills, including "exorbitant electric bills caused by ... NVR's employees," the suit says.

The suit claims NVR failed to install a shut-off valve in the front yard of the house, which put the house at risk for a collection of sewage back-up, malfunctions and flooding.

The suit says the Singletons had to spend great time and money fixing and re-sanitizing their home due to the bacteria caused by the untreated sewage. Their home also lost market value.

The Singletons, through attorney Sherman Lambert, demand compensatory and punitive damages from NVR.

Jefferson Circuit Court case number 07-C-98