Terminix Loses In Arkansas Again

Dummy Drill Holes, Cover-up, and Refusal to Answer Discovery Allowed By Court Rules

Terminix Business Practices In El Dorado Arkansas Are Under Fire.

There is a nice Tudor house in El Dorado Arkansas. It looks great from the curb. Since it was under construction twenty years ago, Terminix took money every year for its promise to protect from termites. But things are not always as they appear.

The lovely home has more than $60,000 in termite damage.

Terminix promised to repair the house if it ever got Termite damage. But after reimbursing the couple for $7,000 in repairs they made, Terminix said it would not pay to fix all the damage that was uncovered.

After running out of other options the couple had to sue. Lawyers in Arkansas associated Campbell Law to help. Campbell Law handles serious termite fraud cases anywhere in the U.S. Campbell Law has twenty-one years experience in similar cases.

After the damage was discovered, Terminix covered up the fact it never provided a full protective barrier in the soil around the house.

Terminix said it would make amends by finally applying the protective barrier. A crew was sent to drill the brick and stone foundation veneer that covers the foundation wall.

Campbell Law’s investigation revealed that many of the new drill holes are what industry “insiders” call “dummy holes.” In other words, the holes were drilled deeply enough to make it look as if drilled to the depth that allows injection of chemicals. However, the holes stop short. You cannot inject chemicals into a “dummy hole.” The unsuspecting homeowners are “dummies” because they think the drilling is done correctly. Terminix settled a case with the Florida Attorney General in which the AG reported widespread use of “dummy holes” in the State. Terminix settled the claim and promised to fix the deficiencies. In separate litigation in Arkansas and elsewhere, Campbell Law is seeking to obtain similar relief for other homeowners.

Terminix tried to force an El Dorado Arkansas couple into secret and costly arbitration without the judge ever knowing for sure that the secret arbitrations cost the customers over ten thousand dollars before they can get a decision against the company. After the couple sued Terminix in state court, the corporation hired lawyers from Chicago and Little Rock to file and handle a federal lawsuit against the homeowners.

In the federal case, the couple wanted to prove that a contract term requiring secret arbitration with the American Arbitration Association was unfair. The clause did not disclose how much the arbitration would cost. However, lawyers at Campbell Law have established in other states that the secret arbitrations cost more than ten thousand dollars.

It costs only a few hundred dollars to bring the same claims in court.

Terminix said the case should be dismissed and forced to private arbitration before a hearing with evidence of the ridiculous cost could take place. Terminix won but Campbell Law got the judge to change his mind. Now the evidence should come out.

Campbell Law will ask the responsible courts to declare the clause “unconscionable” because the undisclosed fee is too high. Obviously no reasonable consumer – wealthy or not – would agree to pay ten to twenty thousand dollars to have a dispute resolved in a secret meeting in a lawyers office. There is no case directly addressing the material legal issues in Arkansas. Terminix has taken other arbitration cases to the United States Supreme Court. Campbell Law has experience in that court as well.