Taylor Morrison Lawsuit: Mold, Stucco, and Class Actions

Lawsuits against Taylor Morrison Home Corporation, the Scottsdale-based Fortune 500 homebuilder, mostly come from homeowners and homeowner associations alleging construction defects, water intrusion, and toxic mold, with the heaviest litigation clustered in Florida, Texas, Colorado, and Arizona. Verdicts and arbitration awards have run from a few hundred thousand dollars to more than $8 million, but a series of 2023 Texas Supreme Court rulings now forces many Texas claims into private arbitration instead of court. A Florida Attorney General investigation opened after a 2025 news report is still active.¹

What Homeowners Are Suing Over

The recurring allegations involve defective foundations, building envelopes, roofing, HVAC systems, drainage, stucco, and shower installations. Claims are typically brought as negligence, breach of warranty, fraud, and violations of state consumer protection statutes.² Water intrusion and mold sit at the center of the most publicized cases, because the underlying installation errors (pinched ductwork, failed shower pans, poor attic ventilation, stucco defects) tend to produce moisture damage that grows over time and shows up after the first year of ownership.

Community-wide disputes have also produced some of the largest recoveries. In Florida, the Alaqua Lakes Community Association sued over negligent design and construction of roadways and an underdrain system serving more than 500 homes. A jury verdict produced a $7.29 million judgment in 2019, and after appeal Taylor Morrison paid $8.6 million in 2020 to resolve the case. Clayton Crossing HOA also filed a multimillion-dollar suit over community-wide envelope defects and water intrusion, which prompted Taylor Morrison to sue its own subcontractors, including a window installer.²

In Colorado, homeowners in the Juenemann case won an arbitration award of $1,487,931 over foundations improperly designed and built on expansive soils.² A separate Thornton arbitration brought by a disabled veteran and his spouse produced a $207,481 award after experts estimated repair costs around $200,000 and the company offered roughly $20,000 during the proceeding.³

Mar Bella: The Texas Mold Cases

The Mar Bella subdivision in League City, Texas, is the most documented mold cluster tied to Taylor Morrison. Residents nicknamed the community “Mold Bella,” blaming widespread moisture, humidity, and toxic mold on defects in the building envelope, roofing, attic ventilation, HVAC systems, and shower installations.⁴

Taylor Morrison acknowledged the problem in October 2018 letters, calling the situation “inconvenient, frustrating and extremely stressful” and admitting that previous repair attempts had failed. The company said it was still identifying root causes, which varied by home and floorplan, and eventually finalized repair protocols focused on attic humidity control.⁴

Several homeowners took the company to arbitration. A June 2020 arbitration judgment awarded one Mar Bella homeowner $517,098 for damages, expert fees, attorney fees, and interest, with the arbitrator finding the home defectively designed and constructed in breach of the implied warranty of habitability. A separate arbitration involving another Mar Bella property also found breaches of the implied warranty of good and workmanlike construction.⁴ The Skufca family sued in August 2019 alleging mold contamination and demanding more than $1.5 million for demolition, remediation, contents, and living expenses; their case eventually reached the Texas Supreme Court on the arbitration question.⁵ Wayne and Terri Sutherland filed a separate 2022 suit in Galveston County seeking between $250,000 and $1 million, alleging that repairs Taylor Morrison performed in 2020 failed to fix the moisture and mold.

Starkey Ranch and the Florida Attorney General Investigation

A FOX 13 two-year investigation published in July 2025 refocused attention on Taylor Morrison’s Starkey Ranch community in Pasco County, Florida. Homeowners in the Whitfield Preserve section reported improperly installed shower pans, water leaks, and mold. A private Facebook group grew to 53 members discussing defects and a possible class action.¹

Taylor Morrison told the station that of 160 homes it built in Whitfield Preserve, roughly half required some form of remediation. It attributed problems to pinched ductwork, gaps around interior AC grills, and issues with supply vents in air handler unit closets, and created a “special operations team” to address defects. At the same time, one homeowner who reached out in 2023 was told by email that “the pictures indicate a lack of homeowner maintenance and Taylor Morrison is not responsible for this, whether reported within the warranty period or not.”¹

Following the FOX 13 report and more than 30 homeowner complaints, the Florida Attorney General’s Office opened a formal investigation into construction defects at Starkey Ranch. As of mid-2025, the investigation remained “open and active,” and the office encouraged homeowners still experiencing problems to file complaints.¹

The 45 Stucco Lawsuits and the Insurer Fight

Separately from Starkey Ranch, Taylor Morrison of Florida has been defending 45 lawsuits filed by homeowners beginning around March 2023. Those cases involve central Florida residential developments and allege negligent stucco installation performed by subcontractor Construction Coatings Group, Inc. between 2013 and 2016, which the homeowners say caused property damage.⁶

On October 1, 2025, Taylor Morrison filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against National Builders Insurance Company (formerly Vinings Insurance Company), the subcontractor’s liability insurer. The builder alleges the insurer breached its duty to defend Taylor Morrison as an additional insured under those policies and asks the court to declare that the insurer must cover defense costs, attorneys’ fees, and litigation expenses. The court had not ruled on the claims as of October 2025.⁶

Can You Actually Take Taylor Morrison to Court?

The answer depends heavily on the state. Taylor Morrison purchase agreements and warranties routinely include arbitration clauses, and recent appellate law has moved in opposite directions in Florida and Texas.

Florida: Wiener v. Taylor Morrison

William and Elizabeth Wiener sued Taylor Morrison alleging that stucco installation on their home violated the Florida Building Code. Taylor Morrison moved to compel arbitration under the home’s ten-year structural warranty, and the trial court agreed. In December 2019, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal reversed. The court held that the structural warranty’s arbitration clause applied only to “major structural defects” involving load-bearing elements that rendered the home unsafe or uninhabitable. Because the Wieners’ stucco claims did not involve load-bearing elements, and because the warranty explicitly excluded stucco, the arbitration provision did not apply.⁷ The ruling also held that whether a dispute is arbitrable is for a judge to decide when the contract does not “clearly and unmistakably” delegate that question to the arbitrator.⁸

Texas: Ha, Skufca, and Kohlmeyer

Three 2023 Texas Supreme Court rulings ran the other way. In Taylor Morrison of Texas, Inc. v. Ha, decided January 27, 2023, the court held that a nonsignatory spouse and minor children living in the home can be compelled to arbitrate under the purchase agreement signed by the other spouse, reasoning that occupying the home accepted the contract’s benefits.⁹ The companion case, Taylor Morrison of Texas, Inc. v. Skufca, reached the same result for the Mar Bella family’s minor children under the doctrine of direct-benefits estoppel.¹⁰ Then on June 30, 2023, the court decided Taylor Morrison of Texas, Inc. v. Kohlmeyer (No. 21-0072), a unanimous per curiam ruling that extended arbitration to subsequent purchasers who bought the home secondhand. Because the Kohlmeyers’ implied-warranty claims relied on terms in the original purchase agreement, they could not avoid that agreement’s arbitration clause.¹¹ The combined effect in Texas: original buyers, their spouses, their children, and later purchasers may all be forced into arbitration rather than court.¹²

Bernardo: The Bombing-Range Class Action

Not every case is about construction quality. In Bernardo v. Taylor Morrison, a Florida class action, plaintiffs alleged the builder fraudulently failed to disclose that homes sat near a former World War II bombing range outside Orlando, creating a potential risk of unexploded ordnance. The plaintiffs sought rescission of approximately 500 home purchase contracts, each around $500,000, with total exposure near $250 million. The case settled for $1,100 per home, or roughly $5 million total. The settlement was favorable enough to Taylor Morrison that it reversed litigation reserves and recorded the reversal as additional income.¹³

The Cy Porter Complaint in Arizona

In 2024, Taylor Morrison filed a complaint with the Arizona Board of Technical Registration against Cy Porter, a home inspector who posts social media videos documenting defects in new construction. The builder alleged Porter was “targeting, harassing, and bullying” the company, that his videos contained “falsified” information, and that he had sexually harassed a Taylor Morrison attorney. It asked the board to suspend his license and require ethics training.¹⁴

After reviewing Porter’s posts and interviewing homeowners and witnesses, the board found “no evidence to show Porter lied in any of his videos” and no violations of board statutes or rules. It declined to suspend his license or impose discipline, though it issued a “letter of concern” about one March video in which Porter paired evidence of a gas leak with unrelated audio he called satirical.¹⁵ Two later complaints against Porter filed by other home inspectors were also dismissed. Porter has since said he will no longer inspect Taylor Morrison homes before closing.¹⁶

If You Think You Have a Claim

Read your purchase agreement and warranty before doing anything else, because the arbitration clause and the definition of covered “structural” defects will shape what forum hears the case and what damages are available. In Florida, an arbitrability question may still be decided by a judge, and stucco or other non-load-bearing claims may fall outside a structural-warranty arbitration clause under Wiener. In Texas, arbitration is the likely forum even for family members and later buyers. Florida homeowners at Starkey Ranch specifically can file complaints with the Florida Attorney General’s Office, whose investigation remains open.¹ Document moisture, mold, and repair history in writing, keep every warranty communication, and understand that reported Taylor Morrison outcomes range from small awards to eight-figure settlements depending on the strength of the defect evidence and the scale of the community affected.

1
FOX 13. FOX 13 Investigates Dangerous Defects New Home Construction
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New Construction Defects Claim. Taylor Morrison Construction Defects
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Chad Johnson Law. Case Results – Colorado Construction Defect
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S3 Q4 CDN. Mar Bella Construction Defect Filing
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FindLaw. Taylor Morrison of Texas Inc. v. Skufca
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Insurance Business Magazine. Taylor Morrison Challenges Insurer Over Defense in Defect Lawsuits
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FindLaw. Wiener v. Taylor Morrison Services Inc.
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Jacksonville Daily Record. A New Look at Arbitration and Home Warranties
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vLex. Taylor Morrison of Texas Inc. v. Ha
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WSHB Law. Minor Children Compelled to Arbitrate Construction Defect Claims
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Texas Courts. Taylor Morrison of Texas Inc. v. Kohlmeyer
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Texas Courts. Case Summaries
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Kitchen Law Group. Turning a $250 Million Threat Into a $5 Million Settlement
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Techdirt. Taylor Morrison Fails to Get Disciplinary Action for Home Inspector
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Yahoo Finance. Arizona Home Inspector Survives Spat
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Working RE. New but Defective – Journey of a New Build Home Inspector