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Erin Brockovich Sets Sights on Lennar

05/02/08 - 05:23 PM EDT

Nicholas Yulico

On May 6, Brockovich will be holding a community meeting at the Charleston Place Hotel to discuss the test results.

"Experts have traveled to this site and test results have confirmed that there is VOC and methane contamination of the indoor air and the sub-slab soils that are of concern," says a brief email about the upcoming meeting obtained by TheStreet.com.

Ben Sauls, a homeowner in the community, says his family moved from his home after they experienced negative health effects. "My daughter kept having bloody noses constantly, like three or four times a day," he says, adding that the entire family suffered from severe headaches, dizziness, nausea and red eyes.

His lender has given him a temporary forbearance, or forgiveness of debt payments, until August.

"Nobody in the neighborhood that I talked to was comfortable with the EPA's findings except for Lennar," Sauls says, pointing out that families have continued to get sick in the community after the EPA closed the case in October. He says a lawsuit against Lennar is likely to be filed soon by Brockovich.

Lennar officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Brockovich, who works with law firm Masry & Vititoe, also could not be immediately reached for comment.

Brockovich was made famous by a 2000 movie about her start as an advocate. The film, which stars Julia Roberts, details Brockovich's work in establishing that the people living in Hinkley, Calif., had been exposed to the toxic Chromium 6, which had leaked into the groundwater by a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. compressor station.

A total of $333 million in damages were paid to the residents of the area in that case.

Know What You Own: Lennar closed Friday down 0.8% at $19.27 on a generally mixed day for homebuilder stocks. Here's how some other stocks in the sector ended the session:

  • Ryland RYL, up 1.5% at $33.62.
  • Centex CTX, up 1.2% at $22.24.
  • KB Home KBH, up 0.6% at $24.05.
  • Pulte PHM, up 0.5% at $14.18;
  • DR Horton DHI, down 1.3% at $15.65;
  • Hovnanian HOV, down 1.5% at $11.67;



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