Galveston man claims engineer's wrong calculations cost him windstorm coverage

GALVESTON - A local man is suing R-MAC Engineering Inc. and one of its engineers, Rod McCasland, for allegedly failing to abide by plans to reconstruct his Galveston home.

In a lawsuit filed June 10 in Galveston County District Court, Michael Amaroso shows that the defendants' purported actions kept him from the property for nearly five years.
Amaroso's residence was damaged during Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

The plaintiff hired McCasland and the company to design and engineer the plans for the house's construction on or around Oct. 14, 2009, a year after the Category 2 storm.

The project commenced on Aug. 5, 2010, but according to the suit, the defendants quit more than six months later supposedly because they were moving from The Woodlands to Conroe and it would be too "burdensome" for them to finish.

A new engineer was brought in, and he suspected the respondents' plans would not meet the 120-mph testing benchmark.

His suspicions were confirmed when his calculations revealed that the roof design would failed as designed at 70-mph sustained winds, the suit says.

After a replacement roofing system was built, Amaroso attempted to obtain windstorm coverage, but was denied because he failed to provide foundation calculations, which were reportedly done by the defendants.

He eventually secured a certificate of occupancy and finally moved into the house earlier this year.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney J. Marcus Hill of Hill & Hill P.C. in Houston is representing the complainant, and Galveston County 122nd District Court Judge John Ellisor is presiding over the case.

Case No. 13-CV-770