I am a dedicated active duty Naval officer and mother of three young children, one of whom has special needs, developmental delays, and a history of chronic cardiopulmonary issues. My family has been facing an incredibly difficult situation, and we urgently need your help to raise awareness about our circumstances. After exhausting all other avenues, we feel overwhelmed, as this situation has far exceeded the resources available to us from the Navy or DoD, or from our modest family, as my husband and I both come from very humble backgrounds.

In 2019, we received military orders to move to Washington, DC. In Nov 2019, we purchased what we believed would be the ideal home for our family—particularly for our then 4-year-old son, who had an Individualized Education Program (IEP). However, we soon discovered that the sellers had failed to disclose significant, long-term drainage and water intrusion issues. Despite being aware of our son's health vulnerabilities—including his recent hospitalization for double lung pneumonia just prior to our offer on their house—they sold us a home that posed severe health risks to him and our entire family.

After closing and receiving the keys, issues quickly started becoming noticeable during a rain event. As we investigated, the extent of the damages uncovered was so severe that a licensed mold inspector deemed the property uninhabitable, citing significant structural issues and toxic mold, which had been actively covered up with fresh building materials and paint, making it nearly impossible to detect during our home inspection. This led to us facing homelessness shortly upon arriving in DC. To make matters worse, while seeking shelter in a hotel over Christmas, our son was hospitalized with a strange respiratory illness. We now suspect he contracted COVID-19 during our flight from California to DC, before the virus was widely known and prior to the availability of PCR tests. At the time, he tested negative for all known circulating viruses. He was released after a week with home oxygen support. The day after Christmas, we were forced to check out of the hotel due to no vacancies, leading to a period of bouncing from basements to other hotels until my husband secured a job, and we could afford a modest two-bedroom rental in February 2020. This was still a struggle, as my income was burdened with a hefty mortgage on the uninhabitable home. A family member created a Facebook fundraiser to raise awareness and provide some limited financial relief. While our reach was small, we managed to raise enough to pay the rental deposit and place our 2-year-old in daycare, since my husband could no longer stay home with them. You can see pictures of the extensive damage and posts about our journey through this link:

https://www.facebook.com/donate/783842625446028/?fundraiser_source=external_url

By February 2020, we had secured the small 2-bedroom rental, but we were still living out of suitcases, using borrowed folding furniture, and sleeping on floor mattresses due to the lack of space for our household goods. Just a month later, the COVID lockdowns began, forcing me to homeschool my three children (ages 2, 4, and 7) while juggling a new job, seeking legal and financial assistance, and trying to manage the aftermath of this crisis.

This is STILL an ongoing crisis due to a prolonged legal battle, which we initiated in 2020. We are now on our third judge, and the lengthy litigation has taken a significant emotional and financial toll on our family. The defendants, with their almost unlimited resources, have used tactics that have made this case so unaffordable that we may be forced to abandon it. It feels like a David vs. Goliath struggle, with our small military family fighting against a corporate giant. Our legal fees alone have reached nearly $400,000, and we estimate that $450,000 is needed for repairs to restore the house to its original condition. In total, we are facing approximately $850,000 in debt as we fight to make things right.

Over the past five years, we’ve endured three moves in the DC area (not including hotels and basements), numerous pre-trial hearings, and three judges with conflicting rulings. The current judge finds herself in an impossible position. Though she oversees the entire five-year case, she has stated that she lacks the jurisdiction to overturn previous rulings made by earlier judges. The second judge’s decision to reverse the first judge’s ruling—due to the defendants’ repeated motions to dismiss our consumer protection act violation complaint—has left the case in a weakened position, and the new judge says she is unable to issue alternate rulings. As it stands, the case is awaiting approval for an interlocutory appeal, with a jury trial scheduled for January 2026—six years after our ordeal began. But we are quickly running out of resources to keep going. We need help.

At this point, we are desperately pleading for assistance from the local community to help us stay afloat long enough to get this matter in front of a jury, where we hope we can finally seek justice for our family. Any help you could provide would be invaluable and could make a significant difference in our lives as we continue this fight.

Thank you for considering our request. And most importantly for your prayers.