Massive lawsuit filed against military housing communities
2 families from SAFB included
WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - On Monday, a number of Texas military families, including two from Sheppard Air Force Base, filed a lawsuit against military housing companies.
The lawsuit claims that the companies had filed fraudulent maintenance reports for homes to gain financial incentives, and this isn’t just a problem in Texas.
“Everything that we’ve seen at Sheppard, at Lackland, at Fort Bliss, we’ve seen around the country,” Military Housing Advocates Network volunteer Sarah Klines said.
Chris and Rebecca Dozier were staying at a house provided by Balfour Beatty Communities while stationed at Sheppard. In 2018, while Chris was deployed, the big problems began with a havoc water leak that took 11 days to dry.
“We trusted that it would be taken care of, you know, why wouldn’t you? It’s military housing,” Chris said.
A year later, the problem returned; leaving the family waiting another 18 days for everything to dry.
“Five or six days into it, we were all extremely sick,” Rebecca said.
Chris and Rebecca, as well as their children, were experiencing symptoms of memory loss, rashes, migraines, and dizzy spells leaving them turning to Balfour Beatty for answers.
“I told him we couldn’t breathe and we were so sick and something was wrong,” Rebecca said. “I don’t know what was being blown up into the air, but something was wrong and I got on my knees and begged him for help and [they] laughed.”
Mold had been building up through the home’s HVAC unit, as well as the wood and carpets, none of which had been replaced by Balfour Beatty after either leak.
“I’ll always be on that floor,” Rebecca said.
The Dozier’s added that the reason why these companies continue to get away with these fraudulent reports is that those who fight back are seen as troublemakers to others in the military.
“I’m retired now but those are still my brothers and sisters, they are still being put in harm’s way,” Chris said.
Now, lengthy legal battles await but the hope is that Balfour Beatty and others alike make things right and feel the pain Rebecca felt while begging on her knees.
“They should know what that feels like and beg for forgiveness and then maybe at that point, when it stops, we can all get up off that floor,” Rebecca said.
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