Over 90 homeowners were displaced when a 40' tall retaining wall collapsed in the Centex-Pulte community of The Hills of Rivermist in San Antonio, Texas.

1. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE BEFORE AFTER On January 24, 2010, more than 90 San Antonio homeowners in The Hills of RiverMist subdivision were displaced when a 40-foot tall retaining wall collapsed. For many, their lives have been ruined. The culprit is both the builder and developer - Centex Homes. Welcome to The Hills of Rivermist - San Antonio, Texas This beautiful community can be your home.

2. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE Tons of fill dirt on over 8’ of expansive clay soil got saturated with heavy rain and pushed the wall outward from the bottom.

3. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE Was it an Act of God, a landslide, slope failure or earthquake? What about shoddy construction? Where’s the rebar?

4. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE Was it an Act of God, a landslide, slope failure or earthquake? What about shoddy construction? Where’s the rebar?

5. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE Was it an Act of God, a landslide, slope failure or earthquake? What about shoddy construction? Where’s the rebar?

6. OTHER CRACKS ALONG THE WALL Bad fill dirt on expansive soil with shoddy wall design & construction, no reinforcement, and no City permitting or inspection.

7. The wall had none of these design elements

8. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

9. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

10. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

11. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

12. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

13. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE Notice the roof as the soil moves, the foundation cracks, and the house torques.

14. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE Notice the roof as the soil moves, the foundation cracks, and the house torques.

15. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE Over 90 residents were evacuated. 27 had their Certificate of Occupancy suspended and received Buy-Back offers. Others worry about foundations and a stigma that affects home values.

16. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

17. RIVERMIST Aerial Photos

18. RIVERMIST Aerial Photos

19. RIVERMIST Aerial Photos

20. RIVERMIST Aerial Photos

21. RIVERMIST Aerial Photos

22. RIVERMIST Aerial Photos

23. RIVERMIST Aerial Photos

24. RIVERMIST Aerial Photos

25. RIVERMIST Aerial Photos

26. RIVERMIST Aerial Photos

27. RIVERMIST Aerial Photos

28. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE The rains came as workers spread tarps & security guards limited access to the site.

29. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

30. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

31. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

32. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

33. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

34. RIVERMIST RETAINING WALL COLLAPSE

36. RIVERMIST BUYBACKS Residents protest and want MORE homes bought back.

37. RIVERMIST BUYBACKS Residents protest and want MORE homes bought back.

38. RIVERMIST BUYBACKS Some dressed as Lemons to protest shoddy construction.

39. RIVERMIST BUYBACKS Some protested at the Pulte Group shareholder’s meeting in Michigan.

40. RIVERMIST BUYBACKS Some protested at the Pulte Group shareholder’s meeting in Michigan.

41. RIVERMIST BUYBACKS Some protested at the Pulte Group shareholder’s meeting in Michigan.

42. CRIME SCENE – Where was Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott? He got over $1 million in campaign contributions from Texas builders. Is that why he didn’t investigate? NO PERMITS – TX Rep. David Leibowitz voiced concern about fill dirt & construction quality in 2007 before the first wall collapsed. Still, Centex got no permit for the new wall. DESTRUCTION OF EVIDENCE - Immediately after the latest collapse, Centex brought in heavy equipment to haul off fill dirt and used City police and private security to limit access to and independent inspection of the site.

43. LOCATED IN NW SAN ANTONIO

44. Clear-cut Grading & Terracing Rather than keep the trees and terrain, Centex clear-cut and graded the land to create premium-priced lots with views.

45. Clear-cut Grading & Terracing

46. Clear-cut Grading & Terracing Builders often hold off selling premium lots to drive up demand & price.

47. Clear-cut Grading & Terracing From the Contour Lines, we can see how much fill dirt was added.

48. USDA Web Soil Survey Analysis Highly Expansive Soil – “Very Limited” for Building Area of Interest The City and builder knew, or should have known that the soil conditions were poorly suited for home construction.

49. USDA Web Soil Survey Analysis

50. USDA Web Soil Survey Analysis Expansive Clay Soil with High Shrink-Swell “Very Limited” for Dwellings on Concrete Slab Foundation

51. WATER BALLON THEORY This is why the proposed Centex design won’t work.

52. APPLYING THE WATER BALLOON THEORY

53. Analysis of UK landslide expert This photo shows evidence that tons of fill can simply squish underneath a wall.