Kingwood Residents Sue Home Builder After May Flood Damages Homes

KINGWOOD, TX — Residents in the Elm Grove subdivision in Kingwood, whose homes were flooded during severe storms in May, have filed a class action lawsuit alleging developers in a neighboring subdivision blocked their drainage system and caused flooding in their homes.

An estimated 200 Elm Grove residents are suing Figure Four Partners, a subsidiary of Houston-based Perry Homes, along with Rebel Contractors, Inc. and PSWA, Inc. As many as 400 homes were flooded when severe storms moved through the Houston area on May 7.

According to the lawsuit, the developers began work in a planned residential area north of Elm Grove, known as the Woodridge Village Development. The developers allegedly stripped the area of trees, and trenched the area and added box culverts in an attempt to create drainage, according to court documents.

As a result of that development, the lawsuit alleges homes in the Elm Grove subdivision, which had never flooded — even during Hurricane Harvey — were inundated with flood waters.

"When the rain came in on May 7th, there was nowhere for the water to go. They put in a culvert that blocked the drainage and that backed into the development, and when it had nowhere to go it rushed down the streets," Kimberley Spurlock, one of the attorneys representing the Elm Grove homeowners told KPRC.

Elm Grove residents also claimed developers violated the Texas Water Code by blocking drainage systems for the Elm Grove subdivision, making the flooding worse, according to the lawsuit.

"This may be the most outrageous act I’ve seen in my life. I saw what happened in Elm Grove on May 7th. I watched my friends pull up their carpet, rip their walls apart and throw their memories onto their front lawns," Houston City Councilman and Kingwood resident Dave Martin told the Tribune. "These people can try to intimidate us all they want, but it will only make us stronger and more determined. What they don’t understand is when you’ve walked through hell and survived, it only makes us stronger. I say, bring it on as the truth is on our side. Kingwood Strong."

Meanwhile, developers filed a counter lawsuit claiming the flooding was an “Act of God” and not a result of negligence and should be handed by Montgomery County.

Omar Chawdhary, who also represents Elm Grove residents, said the counter suit "unbelievable" calling it a ploy to manipulate Elm Grove residents into dropping their lawsuit.

"This is a David-vs.-Goliath story where the big companies are putting forth the effort to say that the homeowners, who have never been flooded before, are going to have to pay the companies for flooding their homes," Chawdhary said.

Elm Grove residents are seeking damages in excess of $1 million.

READ ALSO: Torrential Rains Cause Flooding In Humble, Kingwood

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