Ralph Slader's employer was transferring him to Everytown, USA. So, he was interested in buying a house there. He hired Robin Brown as his real estate agent. She located several houses for Ralph to look at. He looked at them and decided to make an offer on a house owned by Mike and Sylvia Lewis. The Lewis' completed the disclosure document which showed that the only problem they had with the house was occasional water in the basement when there was heavy rain. They hired Acme Engineering to correct the problem. Acme installed a system under the concrete in the basement to insure that the water did not drain into the basement. This was done about a year ago and since then, despite numerous hard rains, there was no water in the basement. Acme gave the Lewis' a ten-year fully transferable warranty on the work.

The sale went through without any difficulty. Ralph learned, during the purchase process, that the house was part of a Home Owners Association, the Greenacres HOA. Six months after settling into the new home, Ralph decided it would be a good idea to go to the annual HOA meeting to meet more of his neighbors and learn about the HOA.

At the HOA meeting, Ralph learned that two homeowners in the HOA have recently been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. This type of cancer almost always comes from exposure to a certain chemical. The HOA recently learned that the developer of the subdivision, Superior Homes, bought the property from XYZ, Inc. XYZ, Inc. owned the property and operated a farm on the property, even though it was designated and zoned only for single family dwellings. The chemical that causes the type of cancer that these two homeowners have was used on the farm by XYZ, Inc. The chemical was not labeled as dangerous even though it was highly dangerous when humans are exposed to it. It is believed that the corporation dumped this chemical into a ditch that ran through the property to a creek.

A few days after the HOA meeting there is a heavy rain and water leaks into Ralph's basement. He calls Acme and they send out a representative. To fix the problem, they do some landscaping around the outside of the house.

Later, the HOA hires a company to take soil samples of the property and test for chemicals. This company found high levels of a cancer-causing agent in the soil of all of the homeowners, including Ralph. It is the same substance that XYZ, Inc. dumped into the ditch. The HOA hired a group of scientists to evaluate the homeowner's risks and what can be done. These scientists concluded that the levels of the chemical were only likely to cause cancer if they were inside the home where one would be repetitively exposed to the chemical. For those homeowners, the only safe remedy was to tear down homes and a complete removal of all soil down to a certain level.

Assume the HOA decides not to take any action on its own behalf or that of the property owners.

What actions can Ralph take? Whom can he sue? What are the grounds, or causes of action, he might have against each? Who might he turn to for help and what might that help be?