In Maryland, the Home Builder Registration Unit filed the charges against Altieri Enterprises Inc., trading as Altieri Homes and Athlone LLC of Columbia, along with principals Greig Altieri and Daren Altieri, for failing to comply with state consumer protection laws relating to builder registration, custom-home building and deposits on new homes. A hearing on the charges has been scheduled for June 23 at the Office of Administrative Hearings, an independent agency that settles disputes between businesses and consumers.
Guillory, who said the problems occurred over the past several years, said the state is seeking injunctive relief, restitution, damages and civil penalties but that the amount has not been determined. She said it is likely additional homeowners who have experienced problems will come forward and be added to the charges.
Abingdon residents Deborah "Susie" Burgers and her fiance, John Vandenburg, who had complained about Altieri to the state attorney general's office, said they discovered problems with their new $593,450 Altieri home just days after moving in June 2005. They felt the narrow, four-story home near the Bush River sway. Altieri assured them the home was safe.
"Since her home is very tall and narrow, it is typical to feel deflections or swaying," Frank Altieri wrote in a September 2006 letter to the attorney general's office, responding to a complaint Burgers had filed. "All of our beach-type homes, which are narrow and tall, exhibit this type of behavior. It is perfectly normal, our personal beach home in Ocean City exhibits this type of behavior and it is only three stories."
But a structural engineer hired by Burgers found the builder had left out a steel portal frame and "shear walls" required by the county building code. He said he had "grave concerns" regarding both the home's structural integrity and suitability for occupancy. The homeowner filed a lawsuit against Altieri Enterprises Inc. and Altieri Homes Inc. in September 2007, and last month, Harford County Circuit Judge Emory A. Plitt Jr. ruled that Altieri failed to build the home in a workmanlike manner and in compliance with the building code. He awarded damages of $294,828.
Burgers, who still lives in the home, said she and her family leave when it's extra windy. She says she's in limbo, unsure of when or whether the builder will pay.
"I would not wish living like this on anyone," she said.
