In the News · Court case · Texas
Tarrant County jury awards $21.6M over sewer gas and mold
What happened
A Tarrant County jury has awarded a North Texas family $21.6 million after plumbing defects in the house they bought in 2018 filled it with sewer gas and led to severe mold contamination. The family left the house in 2024, when sewer gas was found coming through the air vents, and has been living in an RV on the property since. The house remains uninhabitable, according to the family's attorneys.
Jurors found the contractor, NAE Enterprises (doing business as NAE Contracting), grossly negligent and found that it knowingly and intentionally violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The award includes $10 million in exemplary (punitive) damages. The jury assigned 77 percent of the responsibility to NAE Enterprises and 10 percent each to Dauenhauer & Associates and Ricky Dauenhauer.
This was a jury verdict, not a settlement. One defendant, Dauenhauer & Associates, LLC, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in August, which may limit how much of the award the family actually collects. Most published details come from the family's attorneys; we found no published response from the defendants.
What it means for homeowners
- Persistent plumbing problems, sewer odors and mold are a moisture and air-quality problem first. Find the source before anything else.
- Document everything from the first sign of trouble: dates, photographs, moisture readings, every repair attempt and every communication.
- An independent assessment by someone who won't be doing the repair gives you a record that holds its value later.
- Texas buyers and owners have remedies beyond the mold rules — here, negligence, implied warranty and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Reporting
Our summary of published reporting. Read the original coverage for the full story.