Electrocution Prompts Lawsuit Against Lennar

This is one of those stories that is so personal you wonder if you are supposed to report it or not. The story was passed to me from Mike Morgan at MorganFlorida.

Here goes from Morgan, followed by an email from Lisa Ugalde whose husband was accidentally electrocuted:

Mike Morgan to Martin County Commissioners

Dear Martin County Commissioners:

That’s one of the first thing’s I heard from a caller this morning. Below is her story. ALL very well documented. Many of you are receiving this email as a blind cc along with a few dozen other contacts ranging from national figures to national media.
Please take a moment to read the heart wrenching email below. And if you have time, click on this link and read the story and watch the video.

Lisa’s husband was killed by a defective Lennar home. He was electrocuted on his one year old daughter’s birthday. The home had passed inspection by the local inspector just two weeks earlier.

Is this what we need to happen in Martin County before someone takes action? Needless to say, this has energized me. I am committing an additional million dollars of my time and money to address these issues. This problem will not go away.

I will be at the Tuesday meeting next week to make a presentation. I will be addressing Larry Massing’s qualifications in regard to his public application for the position and his entire personnel file from the City of Stuart. If Mr. Weberman’s wants to attack me again, I will address the issue publicly. I did not address the issues at the last meeting, since the room was full of firemen there for the contract issue. Consider Mr. Massing was the former Fire Chief at the City of Stuart, to respond to Mr. Weberman would have been suicide for me. Mr. Massing has excellent credentials as a fireman. But I will demonstrate his credentials for the position he is in, as Chief Building Official, raise some questions. I will also be reading Ms. Ugalde’s email below.

Today I made a presentation at the Florida Building Commission. I was told the problem must be addressed locally. After my presentation, one of the Commissioners ran out to catch me. He told me, (and repeated four times that this was off the record) there is no entity in Florida to address the issues I have raised. He said it is a problem in Florida that needs to be addressed, but it can only be addressed at the Legislative level. I will pursue that, as well as the national media with the death of Mr. Ugalde.

Next month is little Victoria’s second birthday. It is also the day a Lennar home electrocuted her Daddy. We are starting a fund for little Alexis and Victoria. If any of your would like to contribute, please let me know. Next month for Victoria’s second birthday, my company is sending her, her sister, her Mom and Grandmother to Disney and Sea World for three days. If you would like to contribute to that, please call me. It’s the anniversary of her Daddy’s electrocution, so I want to try to make her smile. This family has had enough tears.

One final quote from Victoria’s Mom. She told me today that five year old Alexis can’t walk by a wishing well without asking for a quarter. She asks for a quarter because she has to make a “really big wish.” She wishes the same thing with every quarter . . . “Please God, bring my Daddy back.”

Lisa Ugalde Email:

I wish someone would have taken all the problems in the Building Industry, especially in Florida seriously a long time ago, it may have saved my husbands life, and not left 2 Children without a father, the youngest can now celebrate her Birthday and the anniversary of her father's Death on the same day. Lennar's negligent construction has now caused a Death, and left the family to suffer repercussions along with dealing with the death, losing our home, all because my husband walked into their Death Trap. On Sept.20th 2005 Rafael Ugalde was hooking up a dryer vent and was electrocuted, even though the power to the Laundry room was shut off at the Main Electrical Box, all of which has been documented on tape showing that the Home was wired in such a way that the entire House was electrified to the point that there was 110 volts running through the screw of the Medicine Cabinet. Where were Lennar Supervisors through the entire construction of these homes? The wires were not bundled which Fl code requires, the dry wall was put up over the wiring and the screws for the dry wall pierced the wiring and the screws through the metal frame of the home, which caused the entire home to be Electrified, and no one on site trained to save his life, now a disabled Mother left to raise 2 small children and Lennar has taken no responsibility to date, had someone responded to numerous complaints of serious Building problems and put a stop to Lennar Homes Building Practices Rafael Ugalde would not have been tragically killed, electrocution is no way to die, as we know as we changed our way of taking a life for People whom we deem through Law should die for their crimes, Rafael Ugalde was not convicted of crime he was just trying to make a living and support his family. I intend to do everything I can to make sure this is the first and last death which Lennar is responsible for.

Mish:
Best wishes and condolences to Lisa Ugalde and her family.

Mike Shedlock / Mish
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/