Bourassa Law Group, LLC: Class Action Filed Against Ryland Homes for Failure to Use Code Mandated Fire Sprinklers

LAS VEGAS, April 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- A class action lawsuit has been filed against nation-wide home builder Ryland Homes for failure to follow codes requiring the installation of fire sprinklers in three-story homes. The suit, filed in Clark County District Court, Case No. A-15-714981-D, alleges that every three-story home built by Ryland Homes in the Las Vegas area under the applicable codes has this defect. The suit also contends that the failure to include the necessary sprinklers has caused the owners of all affected homes to suffer damages including the cost to repair the defect in design, and that the homes pose an imminent threat to the health or safety of their inhabitants.

The homeowners in this class action against Ryland Homes are being represented by Mark J. Bourassa and Christopher W. Carson of The Bourassa Law Group, LLC, in Las Vegas Nevada.  Bourassa stated: "This is a classic case of a large corporation putting profits before people – in this case, blatantly disregarding the building codes and putting the lives of homeowners and first-responders at risk to save a few dollars per home." 

According to the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) Fire Sprinkler Initiative, there are approximately 367,000 home fires in the United States each year, killing 2,500 people.  Fire sprinklers reduce property damage by about 70% per fire, and reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by about 80%.  Fire sprinklers cost an average of $1.35 per square foot to install. http://www.firesprinklerinitiative.org/advocacy-tools/fact-sheets/about-home-fire-sprinklers.aspx. 

Following the filing of this class action suit, the Nevada Senate Committee on Government Affairs submitted Senate Bill No. 477, which seeks to limit when builders in the state of Nevada are required to install automatic fire sprinklers in new construction homes. The bill includes language that limits the county or city governing the area where the home is to be built from requiring automatic sprinklers except under specific circumstances. Homes under 5,000 square feet would be categorically excluded regardless of how many stories, unless there are unique characteristics of the location of the home that would cause an unreasonable delay in firefighter response time. If the residence is more than 5,000 square feet, a cost-benefit analysis of installing the sprinklers would have to be completed, then presented and agreed to at a public hearing before they can be required in the dwelling. If passed, the law would go into effect as of October 1, 2015. 

The Bourassa Law Group represents homeowners in construction defect claims and represents aggrieved people in matters of debt collection harassment, personal injury, and employment disputes.  The firm has attorneys admitted to practice throughout Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, California, Missouri and Florida.

SOURCE Bourassa Law Group, LLC

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