Truesee's Daily Wonder

 

Tiffany Brown/Sun file photo

R.C. Farms, Inc., is a pig farm that has been in North Las Vegas since 1963.

Steve Green

Friday, Sept. 4, 2009 | 11:50 a.

Buyers of a North Las Vegas home are suing a home builder, charging the company failed to disclose the presence of an area pig farm that is generating odors the homeowners say are unbearable.

Michael and Sarah Ricci filed suit this week against Atlanta-based Beazer Homes Holdings Corp.

Messages for comment on the dispute were left Friday with Beazer.

The Riccis say in the suit that in March 2006 they agreed to buy a home at 5944 Tamarack Lodge Lane in the Shadows subdivision, east of Losee Road and south of Tropical Parkway.

They say in the suit that under Beazer's development agreement with the city of North Las Vegas, it was required to obtain signed releases from prospective homeowners acknowledging the existence of the R.C. Farms pig farm and that the housing development may be subjected to odors from the farm.

The farm is at 555 E. El Campo Grande Ave., west of Losee and south of Tropical -- an area to the west of the Ricci home. Directions calculated by mapquest.com indicate the farm is a 1.7-mile drive from the home.

But the Riccis say Beazer didn't provide the required information about the farm and after they moved in and noticed the odor, they asked the Beazer sales person who sold them the home about the issue.

The sales person denied any duty to disclose the presence of the farm, reasoning it was too far away from the home to necessitate disclosure, the lawsuit says.

"After several months the smell became so unbearable that Sarah Ricci could not be in her home without gagging,'' the lawsuit charges.

Only after talking with neighbors did the Riccis learn of Beazer's duty to disclose the presence of the pig farm, the lawsuit said.

The suit says the Riccis contacted the Southern Nevada Health District's Air Quality Division and spoke with a pig farm inspector who said hiring a lawyer was the only solution to their problem.

The suit seeks recission of the sales contract. Alleging concealment fraud, it also seeks unspecified compensatory, special and punitive damages for the Riccis' claimed stress, anxiety and embarrassment; and the alleged loss of full enjoyment of their home.