Texas Jury Awards $51M in Construction Defects Suit Against Perry Homes

A Tarrant County, Texas, jury has awarded a suburban Fort Worth couple a $51 million verdict against a politically influential Houston homebuilder.

Robert and Jane Cull of Mansfield won the verdict in state district court in Fort Worth against Perry Homes.

The suit extends to December 2000 when the Culls filed suit against Perry Homes over structural and foundation problems that started shortly after they moved into their 2,900-square-foot, four-bedroom house near Walnut Creek Country Club in 1996, according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

The trial came after the Texas Supreme Court overturned an $800,000 arbitration award against the company headed by major political contributor Bob Perry.

A Perrry spokesman didn’t respond to messages from The Associated Press, but Robert Cull said that he expects Perry to appeal.

Perry, who has given millions of dollars to state and federal candidates, had won a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in May 2008 to overturn the arbitration award.

The nine judges on the all-Republican panel, whose decision overturned two lower-court rulings, had each received contributions totaling more than $260,000 from members of Perry’s family.