Seminole Tribe sues Lennar over 'defective' and 'horrible' homes built at its reservations. (Lauren Layden, Naples Daily News, October 13, 2025)

LENNAR is America's second largest homebuilder (after number one ranked, D.R. HORTON, from whose loud land-raping scalawags We, the People rescued (with some 50 OSB witnesses) historic Fish Island, which is now a city park). 

$36 billion LENNAR  has some 43 developments in St. Johns County and Jacksonville, Florida. Kudos to the Seminole Tribe of Florida for standing up to LENNAR corporate grifters, bullies and fraudfeasors. 

Do we need a federal and state criminal, civil and administrative investigation of LENNAR and other devious "developers?" "Cui bono?" Who benefits when feckless, faceless corporations like LENNAR promote one-party rule, lavishly support GOP  political campaigns and expect governmental desuetude of law enforcement? You tell me.  Let Justice de done. Good reporting by GANNETT reporter Laura Layden in Naples Daily News and Fort Myers News-Press:

Seminole Tribe sues Lennar over 'defective' and 'horrible' homes built at its reservations

. Lauren Layden, Naples Daily News and Fort Myers News-Press, October 13, 2025

The Seminole Tribe of Florida has sued Lennar over hundreds of "defective" and "horrible" homes built on its reservations.

After discovering serious and widespread construction errors and design flaws, the tribe canceled its contract with the Miami-based builder, but not before spending $300 million on 466 homes, all of which appear to have defects, said William Scherer, one of the tribe's attorneys, with Conrad & Scherer, based in Fort Lauderdale.

According to the lawsuit, filed in Broward County Circuit Court, inspections undertaken by the tribe have revealed defects in building envelopes, roofing systems, structural systems, venting and ducting systems, windows, ceilings, light fixtures and waterproofing, among other faulty elements and components of the homes.

"What we have determined is the issues are systemic," Scherer said.

Some of the homes are "absolutely uninhabitable," due to severe water intrusion and mold, which have made them unsafe to live in, he said.

"This case is a perfect nightmare, a perfect storm," Scherer said.

In its defense, the homebuilder stated:

“Lennar stands behind our homes. When quality falls short of our high standards, our goal is to address those issues without delay and, in this instance, we promptly proposed a comprehensive plan to do so. Our team is ready to implement these repairs immediately, because our priority is resolving concerns for homeowners – not prolonging the process.”

In its lawsuit, the tribe argues otherwise, saying it tried to work with Lennar for six months, but the homebuilder only tricked and deceived it into thinking there was "every intention of amicably resolving all of these very serious issues."

Tribe's contract with Lennar included homes in Southwest Florida

The original contract between the tribe and Lennar included a few of its reservations, one of them located in Southwest Florida – Big Cypress in Hendry County.

Over five years, the contract was revised several times. Those revisions included the addition of more homes in Big Cypress – and the inclusion of the Immokalee reservation in neighboring Collier County.

"Immokalee houses didn't get built because we terminated the contract," Scherer said.

However, dozens of single-family homes have been built by Lennar in Big Cypress, and they all appear to have similar defects, he said.

Every roof that has been assessed within each development will need to be replaced, Scherer said.

"We are hoping that some of those were built better than others," he said. "However, we know that every single roof has to be ripped off those houses. We know that every one of them has water intrusion – water intrusion and mold growing in all of those houses."

The Brighton Reservation in Glades County was also added to the tribe's agreement with Lennar, with contract revisions in 2020. According to the lawsuit, more than 100 homes built at the reservation in Clewiston have material defects.

The worst defects have emerged at the tribe's Hollywood reservation in Broward County, in part because those homes were built first, and the extent of the unknown problems have become more apparent as the homes have aged, Scherer said.

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"Literally the older they are, the houses start falling apart," he said.

One home inspection revealed a light fixture three-quarters of the way filled with water, while other inspections have identified dangerous indoor humidity levels of more than 90% in many of the homes, according to the lawsuit.

"We've got one house that was never even lived in that is absolutely full of mold," Scherer said. "The tiles are buckling. There is mold in the attic. There is water up in the light fixtures growing mold."

Tribe's contract with Lennar a first of its kind

When the Seminoles signed the contract with Lennar, the tribe's leaders felt proud to have struck an agreement to provide more homeownership and rental opportunities to its members, including younger generations, Scherer said.

It was seen as a first-of-a-kind housing agreement for a Native American nation, with homes built on land owned by the Seminole Tribe, making them more affordable and attainable to tribal members, he said.

While most tribal members live in modern homes, some still live in chickees, or open-sided huts with thatched roofs, in traditional family camps.

Due to the extent of Lennar's defects, the tribe is faced with having to "constructively evict" and relocate many of the renters and owners who lived in the homes, at its own expense.

Out of the 466 homes built, 123 are owned and 343 are rentals.

On top of the defects, the tribe is also dealing with the serious health problems some of its members are now facing after living in the mold-filled homes, at its own cost, Scherer said.

Tribal governments are responsible for the health of their members, with sovereign powers to protect the public health and welfare of their communities.

In its lawsuit, the tribe likens the housing situation to "post-disaster cleanup efforts," such as after a major hurricane, estimating property damages alone at more than $200 million.

The tribe seeks actual damages and "equitable relief," including punitive damages designed to punish Lennar for its actions, accusing the homebuilder of "actual malice" and of creating a "public nuisance." It argues that a court-approved remediation program is needed to make sure the home repairs get done, and a court-supervised medical monitoring program is necessary to take care of affected tribal members.

Claims against Lennar include negligence, violations of the Florida building code, breach of expressed warranty, and breach of the implied warranty for habitability and for constructability.

The tribe has demanded a jury trial.

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Lennar seeks closed-door arbitration to resolve lawsuit

The tribe originally filed its lawsuit in March, but then agreed to put it on hold, in hopes of reaching an amicable agreement with Lennar. When that didn't happen, the Seminoles filed an amended complaint on Aug. 29, Scherer said.

On Sept. 2, Lennar filed a motion to compel arbitration, saying two contracts at issue require it. In arbitration, a neutral party hears a case and makes a final, binding decision. Outcomes are often kept secret because arbitration proceedings are private, held behind closed doors, unlike court cases.

The tribe is objecting to arbitration, arguing it's not a condition they agreed to in the development agreement with Lennar.

"Every homebuilder has problems sometimes, but Lennar, because they arbitrate so many of their cases, you don't really know the extent of their problems," Scherer said.

Like most big builders, Lennar uses a network of subcontractors, rather than an in-house crew, to construct its homes.

The tribe chose Lennar based on its long history and national presence, as a top builder in the U.S., only later did it discover widespread problems reported by homeowners about poor workmanship, and difficulty in getting issues fixed, Scherer said.

Lennar homeowners created a Facebook group, for example, “to post about any ongoing neighborhood or construction issues," and the group has almost 40,800 members. Since the Tribe filed its lawsuit, Scherer said other homeowners have reached out to him for help in resolving their problems.

The Seminole tribe is not one to back down in a legal fight as important as this one to the well-being of its members, he said.

"They said go to court," Scherer said of the tribe's leadership. "We're done trying to resolve it" on our own.