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Some Texans remember Sept. 11 for more than terrorist attacks

Hurricane Carla plunged into the Texas coast on Sept. 11, 1961, 50 years ago today, ripping a path from Corpus Christi into Louisiana.

Longtime Corpus Christi furniture maker John McLaughlin, 95, refused to leave his Rosebud Street home, despite the largest evacuation of neighbors he ever had seen.

"We just closed it up and sat there to ride that thing out," McLaughlin said. "It tore my garage apart, and when I went outside it got real calm. I was looking her right in the eye.

"For me it was a godsend," he said. "I built me a new garage."

His was one of more than 54,000 buildings damaged or destroyed in the storm, which later was listed as one of the most powerful and destructive cyclones to hit the Texas coast.

The Category 4 storm's sustained winds of as much as 150 mphmounted damages in excess of $100 million in 1960s dollars, according to a 1966 Caller-Times article. Those figures didn't include water damage or the then-estimated $140 million in crop loss.

Today the same damage would cost more than $2 billion, insurance assessors have estimated. And 43 people died, including 22 who drowned, despite the exodus of more than 500,000 people from the storm's path. More than 11,900 people were injured.

Carla made landfall in the midafternoon between Port O'Connor and Port Lavaca, but most of the damage was well away — as it spawned 26 tornadoes and flooded areas from the Rio Grande Valley to near the Mexican border.

Damage was found as far inland as Dallas, following flooding 10 miles inland from the 22-foot storm surge, before Carla continued north dumping rain throughout the Upper Midwest, according to the National Weather Service.

Windows were shattered in downtown Corpus Christi, and Ocean Drive homes suffered damage, although most weathered fairly well.

More than 12-foot storm-surge waves battered sea walls into ruin, and winds left trees and limbs littering streets.

Rosenberg Roofing Contractor Agrees to ... - Texas Attorney General

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Friday, September 30, 2011

State’s enforcement action charged Holden Roofing with unlawfully coercing homeowners with misleading contracts

SINTON – A Rosenberg-based roofing contractor today agreed to reimburse all homeowners who improperly paid the company’s “liquidated damages” contracts. In June, the Attorney General’s Office charged Holden Roofing Inc. (HRI) with subjecting homeowners to unlawful penalties if they did not hire the defendant to perform the work. According to court documents filed by the Attorney General’s Office, HRI unlawfully coerced homeowners into using their services for roof repairs after severe weather events. Under the terms of today’s agreed judgment, homeowners who paid the liquidated damages assessed by HRI on or after Jan. 1, 2009, will be eligible for restitution. HRI must also pay $25,000 in civil penalties and $10,000 in attorneys’ fees to resolve the State’s enforcement action.

When the defendant’s sales personnel approached homeowners, they did so under the auspices of offering consulting expertise for customers seeking help with claims against adjusters and insurance carriers. As a result, many homeowners who signed the defendant’s “consultation and assistance agreement” believed they were only consenting to a free roof inspection and work estimate. Others believed HRI was independently acting on their behalf to facilitate roof repairs or replacement under the terms of their homeowner insurance policies. However, contrary to the sales staff’s in-person statements, the HRI contract obligated homeowners to hire the defendant to actually repair their damaged roofs – or pay a penalty if homeowners did not select the company to perform the roofing repairs. In an apparent effort to coerce homeowners, HRI imposed a charge totaling 20 percent of the total roof replacement cost if homeowners retained another roofing contractor to perform the repair work. In addition to its “consulting” services, HRI is a traditional contractor that also independently offers roof repair and replacement services. State investigators revealed that HRI’s sales personnel also failed to clearly communicate homeowners’ three-day right of cancellation under its roofing contract. Then, the contract imposed a so-called 15 percent “liquidated damages” payment against customers who canceled contracts outside the three-day window. The Attorney General’s Office alleged this forced payment under the contract was an invalid penalty, not “liquidated damages.” According to investigators, homeowners who attempted to cancel their sales transactions received letters from the defendant demanding that the liquidated damages be paid. HRI warned homeowners that failure to pay the liquidated damages would result in a lawsuit. The State alleged that because the debts accrued under an invalid penalty provision, the defendant could not threaten litigation to collect on debts that accrued under such a provision.

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