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Note 7 | 3 Months Ended
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Jan. 31, 2012
Legal Matters and Contingencies [Text Block] | 7. We are involved in litigation arising in the ordinary course of business, none of which is expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations, and we are subject to extensive and complex regulations that affect the development and home building, sales and customer financing processes, including zoning, density, building standards and mortgage financing. These regulations often provide broad discretion to the administering governmental authorities. This can delay or increase the cost of development or homebuilding. We also are subject to a variety of local, state, federal and foreign laws and regulations concerning protection of health and the environment. The particular environmental laws that apply to any given community vary greatly according to the community site, the site’s environmental conditions and the present and former uses of the site. These environmental laws may result in delays, may cause us to incur substantial compliance, remediation and/or other costs, and can prohibit or severely restrict development and homebuilding activity. We anticipate that increasingly stringent requirements will be imposed on developers and homebuilders in the future. Although we cannot predict the effect of these requirements, they could result in time-consuming and expensive compliance programs and in substantial expenditures, which could cause delays and increase our cost of operations. In addition, the continued effectiveness of permits already granted or approvals already obtained is dependent upon many factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as changes in policies, rules, and regulations and their interpretations and application. The Company is also involved in the following litigation: A subsidiary of the Company has been named as a defendant in a purported class action suit filed on May 30, 2007 in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Randolph Sewell, et al., v. D’Allesandro & Woodyard, et al., alleging violations of the federal securities acts, among other allegations, in connection with the sale of some of the subsidiary’s homes in Fort Myers, Florida. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on October 19, 2007. Plaintiffs sought to represent a class of certain home purchasers in southwestern Florida and sought damages, rescission of certain purchase agreements, restitution of out-of-pocket expenses, and attorneys’ fees and costs. The Company’s subsidiary filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint on December 14, 2007. Following oral argument on the motion in September 2008, the court dismissed the amended complaint with leave for plaintiffs to amend. Plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint on October 31, 2008. The Company’s subsidiary filed a motion to dismiss this second amended complaint. The Court dismissed portions of the second amended complaint. The Court dismissed additional portions of the second amended complaint on April 28, 2010. We settled this case with the plaintiffs for a total payment of $3.3 million, a portion of which was covered by insurance. The settlement was paid in December 2011. Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. and K. Hovnanian Venture I, L.L.C. have been named as defendants in a class action suit. The action was filed by Mike D’Andrea and Tracy D’Andrea, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Gloucester County. The action was initially filed on May 8, 2006 alleging that the HVAC systems installed in certain of the Company’s homes are in violation of applicable New Jersey building codes and are a potential safety issue. On December 14, 2011, the Superior Court granted class certification; the potential class is 1,065 homes. The defendants filed a request to take an interlocutory appeal regarding the class certification decision. The Appellate Division denied the request, and the defendants filed a request for interlocutory review by the New Jersey Supreme Court, which is still pending. The plaintiff seeks unspecified damages as well as treble damages pursuant to the NJ Consumer Fraud Act. The Company believes there is insurance coverage available to it for this action. While we have determined that a loss related to this case is not probable, it is not possible to estimate a loss or range of loss related to this matter at this time. On December 19, 2011, certain subsidiaries of the Company filed a separate action seeking indemnification against the various manufactures and subcontractors implicated by the class action.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for legal proceedings, legal contingencies, litigation, regulatory and environmental matters and other contingencies. + References No definition available. + Details
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