BATON ROUGE - A lawsuit alleging that D.R. Horton constructed single-family homes with mold and water intrusion issues across south Louisiana will remain in state court and avoid arbitration for now, according to The Advocate.

Judge Donald Johnson with the 19th Judicial District Court said the sales contract West and Alicia Dixon signed to buy their Youngsville home in 2014 "is not legally binding or enforceable." The Dixons filed their lawsuit in 2014 after they said D.R. Horton sold them a home with a poorly-designed HVAC system not built for Louisiana's humidity. 

Attorneys argued that D.R. Horton knew their ventilation systems were faulty and attempted to keep buyers from taking legal action by adding arbitration clauses buried in agreements of sales contracts.

D.R. Horton's attorneys argued that the issue could be settled in arbitration, saying the Dixons signed a sale contract twice with a binding arbitration clause. Judge Johnson, though, said the two contracts that the Dixons signed were different, despite D.R. Horton sales agents saying they were the same.

This ruling is the first time a judge weighed in on the arbitration issue after more than three years.