BURLINGTON — The people who paid cash to buy Erpenbeck-built homes and condos will have to file individual lawsuits and perhaps pay up to $20,000 in individual legal costs if they ever wish to get clear title to the roofs over their heads.

        On Friday, Boone County Circuit Judge Jay Bamberger refused to grant class-action certification to a lawsuit filed by lawyers Jeff Blankenship and Ed Monohan on behalf of Steven and Whitney Remley of Walton.

Bamberger

        The couple paid $200,000 in cash to purchase a home two years ago in the Steeplechase subdivision off of Richwood Road in Boone County. They are now fighting a court battle to have numerous banks release the liens on their home.

        There were at least 20 cash buyers in Judge Bamberger's courtroom on Friday.

        They were hoping to join the Remleys' lawsuit but, after a half-hour discussion, Judge Bamberger dashed their hopes by saying they couldn't be defined as a class because their individual claims were so different.

        A class-action suit has already been certified for Erpenbeck buyers who paid by check, but the cash buyers' request was turned back.

        “There was not enough commonality,” said Mr. Blankenship, who subsequently urged the disappointed cash buyers to hire him and Mr. Monohan for any individual lawsuits that they might pursue. Representing the Remleys will help them represent others, he said.

        “We're going to try to work for as many people as possible to keep costs down to a minimum. It won't be a class-action (but) if there are more people, we can divide that cost,” he said.

        “Unfortunately, they're all large banks and they have the resources to protract the litigation. (But) there's more strength in numbers.”

        Class-action certification could have meant that all cash buyers would have been covered in one lawsuit. About 50 homeowners who paid cash for their Erpenbeck-built homes still have liens on them.

        Stanley Chesley, the well-known Cincinnati lawyer, has been successful in getting class-action certification for 211 homeowners who wrote checks to purchase their residences. Those checks allegedly were diverted into Erpenbeck's bank account while he defaulted on more than $75 million in construction loans from numerous banks. The defaulted loans resulted in the homebuyers' liens.

        “We're trying to recover something that was (basically) stolen. That's what is really happening here,” Mr. Blankenship said. “The best thing I can tell you is we're very committed to this cause.”

        The Remleys' suit will not go to trial for another year, he said. Evidence will be gathered in the interim.

        No hearings are set for the immediate future.

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