KB Sued Over Site of Subdivision

KB Home was sued by 64 Texas homeowners who say the Westwood-based homebuilder knowingly put their subdivision on the site of a World War II bombing range.

Residents of Arlington’s Southridge Hills development alleged in their lawsuit that KB Home knew when it bought the land in the 1990s that the Navy had used it during the war for bombing practice.

The homeowners seek a jury trial, a court order to rescind their purchase agreements and at least $65 million in damages, according to their law firm, Weiner, Glass & Reed.

“They no longer feel safe in their own backyard [and] are concerned about allowing their children to play in the neighborhood,” lawyer Marcel Weiner said in a statement.

The suit, which alleges fraud and gross negligence, also claims that KB ignored a government recommendation to hire a contractor to remove any potentially dangerous ordnance.

“According to the map, my street was a bull’s-eye target. My 7-year-old daughter was outside when my husband found a bomb” while raking the yard, said Angela King, whose family moved in last January.

King, who has another daughter, 2, and a son, 7 months, said, “We called the bomb squad and they evacuated all the neighbors from both sides.” She said one official told her the devices were filled with white phosphorous and could explode if struck with a shovel.

“My daughter thinks we live on bombs. She saw the Sept. 11 thing and thinks they’re going to blow us up,” King said. “She’s scared. She kept saying she wants to go live with Grandma and Grandpa.”

KB Home says the company received assurances from the military and an independent consultant that “there was no reason to believe” hazardous substances were on the property.

Shares of KB Home, which reported $3.93 billion in fiscal 2000 sales, fell 75 cents to $31.12 Friday in New York Stock Exchange trading.

KB Home, which was founded in 1957 and changed its name from Kaufman and Broad Home Corp. in January, said this month that it delivered 22,847 homes in the U.S. and France during fiscal 2000.