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The Real Facts About EIFS 

- Clarification of Maday v. Toll Brothers verdict -

10/19/00

Dear Sir or Madam:      

By way of introduction, my name is Peter Grenier. I am the attorney who won the recent EIFS case against Toll Brothers on September 29, 2000, in the Fairfax County Circuit Court. I happened to be browsing your website, and came across your report of the verdict. It is slightly incorrect, so I would like to give you the specifics of the verdict.       

The case caption is James I. Maday, et al., v. Toll Brothers, Inc., et al., At Law No. 184844.  Trial commenced on Monday, September 25, 2000, before Judge Leslie Alden. The case went to the jury on Thursday afternoon, September 28, 2000, at approximately 2:15 p.m.      

The jury broke for the day at 5:00 p.m., and returned at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning, September 29, 2000. They reached their verdict at just before 11:00 a.m.  Their verdict totalled $1.382 million, PLUS attorney's fees, as follows:          

1.    Virginia Consumer Protection Act -- The jury found that Toll Brothers violated the Consumer Protection Act and awarded the Madays $522,000, the purchase price of their house (purchased in March 1996, closing in August 1996). The jury further found that the violation was willful, and therefore increased that amount by another $260,000.  On top of that, the jury imposed $200,000 in punitive damages, and found that the Madays were fully entitled to their attorney's fees.  So the total amount awarded under the Va Consumer Protection Act was $982,000, plus attorney's fees (approx. $50,000).          

2.    Breach of Contract -- The jury found that Toll Brothers had breached their sales contract, and awarded another $200,000.          

3.    The jury found that Toll Brothers had committed constructive fraud as well, and awarded another $200,000.          

Thus, the total verdict was $1.382 million, plus attorney's fees. Tom Jackman, the Washington Post reporter who interviewed me, simply left out the last two numbers.          

For your information, after the verdict, one of the jurors, Kevin Wilson, tracked me down in the hallway and told me that as of Thursday evening, the jury was on the verge of awarding $4.25 million.          

At the time of the verdict, I had another 9 cases -- 8 from Hunter Mill Estates and 1 from Great Falls Hunt -- scheduled for trials running through February 2001. All of those cases, as well as the Maday case, have settled under confidential terms.          

I thought that you might find this clarification useful to you in your efforts to keep the public updated on EIFS-related events. If you have any other questions, please feel free to call. My direct dial is (202) 862-4311.   I commend you for your public service in bringing the truth about synthetic stucco to light.                          

Peter C. Grenier