A long-running case involving Keller Williams and a meth-infested home in Oregon has finally come to a close in a settlement reached on Wednesday.
Following two meditation meetings that ended without resolution, Travis Tubbs, his wife Denay and their seven children reached an agreement with Keller Williams on Oct. 24 — nearly two years after the family filed a lawsuit claiming they were not informed by agents of the home’s former use as a meth lab.
Travis Tubbs’ seven children. Courtesy: Denay Tubbs.
“We just signed a settlement agreement on favorable terms to all parties,” Tubbs told Inman in an email, declining to elaborate on terms of the resolution. After declining comment in August, Keller Williams on Wednesday did not respond to further questions about the case. Lawyers for both parties also did not return calls from Inman.
The story began after Tubbs, an Air Force Major, and his wife purchased a 4,000-square-foot house with a pool and a detached apartment in Jefferson, Oregon in 2017. They claim that just a few days after moving into the property with their children they discovered the drug methamphetamine in every building on the property.
The discovery set off a protracted legal battle. Since early 2017, the Tubbs had been trying to negotiate the purchase with the Eugene Keller Williams branch, all while moving into a trailer and starting a GoFundMe page asking for donations to help them clean up the house. When negotiations stalled, the nine-person family also picketed outside the Keller Williams branch with signs reading “We are homeless because of… Keller Williams” and “Keller Williams sold us a meth-lab” in Aug. 2018.
Tubbs filed a lawsuit demanding damages estimated at $900,000. Replacing everything that had been exposed to the drug would have cost at least $600,000, he claimed.
Inside the alleged meth house. Courtesy: Denay Tubbs.
“The ideal outcome would simply to be awarded the money for the expenses that we have already had to pay because of this terrible situation (we have spent roughly $300,000 already) and all the money that we will still have to pay,” Tubbs told Inman in an email Wednesday prior to the final mediation hearing that afternoon.
According to a local news outlet, the arbitration would have included Travis and Denay Tubbs and Jody Draper, the Eugene real estate agent who sold them the house. Both sides would have also been accompanied by lawyers and insurance company representatives.
Tubbs had said earlier that Draper, who had been both the agent and the property’s co-owner, never mentioned its drug history during the sale of the house. While they did do a home inspection prior to the sale, the Tubbs insist they did not consider testing the property for drug residue.
“We are working with multiple organization and departments to try and establish legislation here in Oregon so that it is mandatory for homes to be inspected for contamination prior to selling,” Tubbs told Inman.
