State-court claims allege defendants concealed ‘dangerous, horrific’ living conditions
MIAMI, March 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Dozens of military families adversely affected by toxic privatized housing at Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West have brought new state-court fraud and gross negligence claims against Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC and other entities, according to the families’ legal team at The McKee Law Group, Just Well Law, PLLC, and Cooper & Kirk, PLLC.
Filed in Monroe County Circuit Court, the new claims brought by 192 current and former residents of Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West allege that Balfour Beatty, for at least a decade, has failed the communities with “shoddy maintenance practices and corporate indifference or ineptitude.”
The lawsuit alleges, “Balfour concealed the horrific conditions from unsuspecting service men and women and their families. When these conditions were discovered and reported, Balfour systematically failed to properly repair and remediate significant problems in the homes, including water damage, mold, structural defects, HVAC, plumbing issues, electrical problems, and the presence of lead paint and asbestos. Balfour misled Plaintiff families into believing that repairs were made, knowing that families living in the homes would likely suffer serious health problems as a result of the conditions.”
The families suffered from severe physical, emotional, and financial harm because of the defendants’ actions and omissions, the lawsuit alleges. The families report exposure-related medical problems that include asthma and other respiratory issues, sinusitis, migraines, memory loss, brain fog, blurred vision, compromised immune systems, and other serious issues. Those physical injuries have also led to extreme stress and, emotional and psychological injuries such as depression and anxiety.
The defendants are Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC; Southeast Housing, LLC; Balfour Beatty Military Housing Management, LLC; BBC Military Housing – Navy Southeast LLC; BBC Military Housing; Balfour Beatty Investments; and Balfour Beatty PLC.
“This case concerns the unsafe and unhealthy conditions that military families living at NAS Key West have been exposed to, not because of lack of funding or resources, but because of the systematic neglect by Defendants,” the lawsuit alleges. “When families reported dangerous mold, water damage, and other serious unsafe conditions and defects in their homes, Balfour repeatedly failed to remediate the issues, falsely marked work orders as complete, and exposed residents to pests and to toxic substances including mold, asbestos, and lead-based paint.”
The families in the case are represented by Robert J. McKee, of The McKee Law Group, of Davie, Fla.; Kristina S. Baehr and Maggie Neusel of Just Well Law, PLLC, of Austin, Texas; and David Thompson, Vincent J. Colatriano, and Michael Weitzner, of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, of Washington, D.C.
Kristina S. Baehr, of Just Well Law, PLLC, said, “Balfour refuses to follow standard environmental protocols or take even the most basic precautions. And in the process, Balfour puts the health, safety and financial security of these military families at risk. These military families are taking a stand for one another and for all of us. We cannot be mission ready if our military families are sick.”
Robert J. McKee, of The McKee Law Group, said, “Looking at the plethora of supporting facts, including those described in the lawsuit, we think the evidence clearly shows that Balfour has failed to take basic steps to ensure that the housing is free from exposure to hazardous materials. As the court filing asserts, Balfour has also repeatedly and systematically failed to address these dangerous housing conditions, forcing our military families to suffer these appalling harms, endure this appalling behavior, or live with these appallingly unsafe, unhealthy, and hazardous housing conditions.”
In December 2021, Balfour Beatty Communities LLC pled guilty to committing major fraud against the United States and was ordered to pay $65.4 million in fines and restitution for misconduct relating to its military housing practices in federal contracts. Balfour also agreed to pay $35.2 million to resolve a False Claims Act civil suit brought by the government. In 2022, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report, Mistreatment of Military Families in Privatized Housing. The subcommittee found “ongoing mistreatment” by Balfour that “has put the health and safety of military families at risk.”
The new case is Jackie and Anthonie Talarico, et al., v. Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC, et al., Filing No. 219777487 in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida. The case includes claims of breach of contract, negligence, gross negligence, nuisance, negligent infliction of emotional distress, breach of warranty of habitability, violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and fraud.
Media Contact: Erin Powers, Powers MediaWorks LLC, for Just Well Law, PLLC, The McKee Law Group and Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, 281.703.6000, [email protected].
SOURCE Just Well Law, PLLC
