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SOUTHEAST TEXAS RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Bad windows shut out successful hurricane repair

GALVESTON - A Galveston man accuses a Georgia-based window company and its Texas branch of performing post-Hurricane Ike work on his home that resulted in negative marks from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, recent court documents say.

William Connard's suit against Windows By U and its proprietor Eric P. Mosely says the defendants provided and installed windows not congruent with the make and quality specified in the parties' contract.

Connard, who filed the case Oct. 13 in Galveston County District Court, alleges the windows in question caused the TWIA to disapprove the ongoing repair work at his West End residence.

"In short, the defendants intentionally misled the plaintiff, misrepresented the quality and characteristics of the goods he purchased, charged him a higher price for higher-quality merchandise, but then delivered substandard that did not possess the quality and characteristics that were promised him and for which he paid the agreed price," the complaint says.

The original petition shows after the Sept. 13, 2008, storm Connard and Windows By U entered into an agreement in which the plaintiff consented to purchase four windows made of "impact glass" while the company promised to complete the project by Jan. 18, 2009.

It further claims that the defendants procrastinated, finishing the task three months later.

Connard also argues the personnel performed poorly.

"Throughout the course of the installation of the windows, the defendants' work crew damaged the framing around the window to the point that the new windows could not be installed properly," the suit says.

"The newly-installed windows were hung in place by only a few screws per window, no trim work whatsoever, and there were visible gaps between the window and the structure frame, which were wide enough that the plaintiff could pass his hand through them."

A TWIA inspector checked the house a month later.

"The installation of the windows and the workmanship with respect thereto was so shoddy and substandard that the TWIA inspector refused to give the residence a passing score," the suit says.

Connard complained to the defendants, but "next to nothing was done to remedy the situation," it adds.

The plaintiff claims the defendants' subsequent work "made matters worse," prompting him to acquire windows from another source and hire a new contractor at his own expense.

He would later learn from the windows' manufacturer that the reportedly defective product he purchased was not like anything the defendant told him, the suit says.

Connard, who is represented by League City attorney J. Michael Hughes, seeks damages including but not limited to repair costs, out-of-pocket expenses, and engineering and consulting fees.

Galveston County 405th District Court Judge Wayne Mallia is presiding over the case.

Case No. 09CV1884

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