Loveland water-softening company faces additional lawsuits

LOVELAND — A Loveland water conditioning company that was on the losing end of a lawsuit against former employees that was dismissed with prejudice last week will continue to have courthouse battles at least partially related to the bad blood between the parties.

Three court cases against Home Water Solutions LLC were filed in Larimer County District Court the same day, June 22, 2023, by the same law firm over allegations of improper installation of home water softening and reverse osmosis systems that may have resulted in contamination of the water systems within the homes.

All three note that the homeowners bringing the cases — one from Evans, another from Colorado Springs and the third from Brighton — were unaware of the potentially improperly installed systems until a plumber from Pure Water Plumbing and Water Purification LLC notified them that their systems may be faulty.

Pure Water is the company that was formed by the former employees of Home Water Solutions, which tangled in court with the employees until the case was dismissed last week.

The three lawsuits are nearly identical in form. 

Each claims that their water-softener systems were installed without permits by an unlicensed installer who failed to provide an air gap as required by code. 

Water-conditioner systems require a drain into the sewer. To prevent sewer contaminants from getting back into the water system, an air gap should be used, the lawsuits said.

Plaintiffs allege that the softener drains were placed directly into basement floor drains, which permitted sewer contaminants to migrate into their water systems and caused neurological and gastrointestinal issues for residents. 

Testing by Quest Environmental Inc. of Greenwood Village showed elevated levels of contaminants, including in one case 16 times higher than water taken from a neighbor’s kitchen faucet.

Home Water Solutions, in an answer to one of the lawsuits, said it “is without sufficient knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth or accuracy of the allegations,” that the allegations are vague, and that the statute of limitations may apply.

The lawsuits seek unspecified damages.

While the three new cases remain unresolved, Home Water also was the subject of a small claims court charge in 2020 in El Paso County that was settled and a 2021 case in Denver that also was settled before it went to trial. The Denver case alleged that contaminants killed two dogs — a 1½-year-old dog named Chewy and a 3-month old dog named Smudge. While the nature of the settlements could not be determined through court records, the Denver case did result in replacement of the water system, including the hot water heater.

A call to Home Water Solutions was answered; a message left for the company owner was not returned prior to publication time.

The Larimer County cases are:

Jim Bradshaw et al vs. Home Water Solutions LLC, case number 2023cv030485, filed June 22, 2023; Julie Rice vs. Home Water Solutions LLC, case number 2023cv030484, filed June 22, 2023; Lynn Riley Carson vs. Home Water Solutions LLC, case number 2023cv030483, filed June 22, 2023.

The other cases cited in this report are:

Anthony Montova et al vs. Home Water Solutions, case number 2020S000502 in El Paso County small claims court; Breanne Jaramillo et al vs. Home Water Solutions LLC, case number 2021cv000235 filed in Denver County District Court.

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