In June 2006, Florida real estate broker Michael Morgan unveiled a Web site targeting alleged costly construction mistakes by Lennar Homes. In it, Morgan alluded to allegations of “shoddy workmanship, slipshod carpentry and faulty wiring” and invited consumers to submit their complaints.

Morgan bought PPC ads and whenever someone was searching for Lennar Homes, they would get directed to his site instead.

Last year, Lennar filed a lawsuit against Morgan over the website, seeking to suppress the “false and defamatory” criticism and use of “keyword advertising” which violates Florida’s trademark law.

“The defendant deliberately selected and promoted these domain names to misdirect those Internet users intending to view Lennar’s official Web site into viewing the defendant’s Web site, instead,” Lennar alleged.

Lennar won and has since taken over the website www.Defective-Homes.net and changed all the verbiage to make it appear that it is now a site to dedicated to offering an opportunity for Lennar Homeowners to voice their complaints relative to issues with their Lennar Home.

Though the old site is no longer online, I found www.Defective-Homes.net using the Wayback Machine.

So, Lennar won that one.

However, on Sept. 5, a new lawsuit was filed against Lennar Homes, alleging that it built several houses on top of an old Army bombing range dating back to World War II.

The suit was filed in Florida’s Orange County Court on behalf of a homeowner who believes her property may contain bombs, bomb fragments or contamination, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The homeowner is concerned that the discovery of bombs could hurt the resale value of her property.

This appears to be just the first lawsuit in a series expected against Lennar Homes.

Lennar Homes: Certified “Bomb-Free”?

Free Speech Vs. Trademarked URLs & Keywords (SearchEngineLand)

Broker Posts Lennar Complaints on Website (Homeowners for Better Building)