SWTPhouse – by Michael Lee Simpson
ONLINE EMBARGO 12:15PM ET 24/2/2025
A couple are in a $2.4million legal row after they installed a sign outside their new $685,000 home telling buyers not to purchase the house next door.
Wonda and Claude LeBrun bought a newly-built home in Richmond, Virginia, but claim they discovered it was structurally unsound – rendering it unlivable – just days after moving in.
They report the floors are sinking, countertops are pulling away from the walls, and cracks have formed in the showers.
So they put a sign in front of their four-bedroom home telling potential buyers not to purchase the house next door – built by the same company, N&H General Constructions.
It says the “floors are shaking and sagging,” the showers can’t be used and the “crawlspace is full of mold” and adds: “The builder built the house next door. Before you buy come and look at this house.”
Now, the homebuilder is suing the couple for defamation for a whopping $2.4 million.
The construction firm deny the allegations, claiming the home is structurally sound, passed inspections, gained certification and say workers would be happy to inspect and do any possible repairs – but claims the LeBrun’s denied access.
The firm claims the sign is “defamatory” and is damaging the company’s reputation, and preventing a sale.
In reply the LeBrun’s say they don’t trust the homebuilders to do the repairs – and want the firm to buy back the house, or pay a third-party to do repairs.
Wonda, 62, a retired medical assistant, said: “As soon as our furniture arrived, the floors dropped. We only had two bedroom sets, and when we put them in, every room in the house started collapsing.
“Every shower, all the granite — it’s all cracked up and separating. We can’t even take a shower because all the water goes straight down into the crawlspace.
“That’s in every bathroom.”
The couple from Lake Dallas, Texas, asked the realtor and county to tell them whether the house was of high quality before buying the house, they claim.
“We had the inspector look at it, he said, ‘You need to have a structural engineer take a look at it. Something’s not right in the crawl space,’” Wonda said.
Concerned, the LeBruns hired two structural engineers, both of whom confirmed structural issues, they claim.
They took their findings to the builder – and the county, who said the certificate of occupancy remained in place.
“We kept asking, ‘Why is that true?’” said Wonda.
But they bought the house after they claim the builder assured them the repairs would be made.
The couple received a letter stating all necessary repairs had been completed, they claim, and the house was up to code, they said.
But within two days of moving in, they say they noticed flaws and called the home building firm in to look at the home.
“When we showed him the interior damage, the floor shaking, the gaps between the floors and the door frames, and the walls cracking, he said, ‘Oh, that’s normal. All houses do this.’
“We showed him how the counters were leaning off the wall and not even level. […]
“The kitchen counter next to the stove is falling away from the wall. Every counter in my bathroom, kitchen — everything made of granite — is falling apart,” Wonda explained.
“I have three walls in the house that are literally falling away from the ceiling.
“He came in and said there’s nothing wrong inside the house,” Wonda said. “Even though all the cabinets are separating from the walls and the walls are literally falling down.”
Claude added: “We feel like we’re out of several hundred thousand dollars. We have no trust in this builder to fix anything correctly.”
The builder served a statement of claim to sue for defamation about two weeks ago.
Wonda said she was willing to allow the homebuilder to “buy the house back and walk away”.
“Or he could pay for a third-party contractor to fix everything up to code, and I would take the house,” she added.
“I love the house — I love the way it’s made, the beautiful backyard. I’m an organic farmer, and I wanted to continue doing that.
“But because of this, our retirement dreams are just screwed up.”
Now, the LeBruns are stuck in limbo, unable to live in the home they poured their savings into.
“I was going to sell my other house and pay off this one,” Wonda said. “That was the plan. But now I can’t afford to have two houses.
“Everything I own is in that house up there, and I’m back in an empty house, trying to figure out what to do next.”
In a statement the homebuilder, N&H General Constructions, disputes the claims made by the couple.
A spokesperson said: “The house they purchased is not structurally unsound.
“The house was constructed in accordance with the applicable building code and had multiple inspections by County Building inspectors including a final inspection before the certificate of occupancy was issued.
“Nonetheless, N&H said they would be happy to inspect and repair as necessary.
“The LeBruns however refused to provide them the access to the crawlspace to perform the inspection and possible repair.
“Instead, they erected a defamatory sign on the house to damage the reputation of N&H and prevent the sale of an adjacent house N&H has listed.
“N&H continued its efforts to work with the LeBruns, but they refused.
“The LeBruns’ actions are precisely the type the Virginia statute cited in the Complaint filed against the LeBruns was meant to address.”
