"D.R. Horton has learned a valuable lesson." Cockrill said in court. "Fraud is serious business for a publicly traded company."
He added, "No one was hurt. The damages are economic, not physical. Everyone got rewarded for the decreased value of their home."
The punitive damages, which were approximately $100,000 for each family, are in addition to the compensatory damages awarded by the jury Monday. Those damages ranged between $140,000 to $192,000 for each family.
"It's a disappointment," Dan Beauchemin, one of the plaintiffs, said yesterday. "That's not a deterrent. That's a cup of coffee for D.R. Horton."
Cockrill declined to comment after the jury announced the punitive awards.
In 2004, state authorities linked the source of the water contamination to a Fallston gas station.
That prompted a class-action lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Oil Corp. and the local station owner, John R. Hicks. That suit, filed in Harford County Circuit Court four years ago, is still pending.
madison.park@baltsun.com
