Developer who raised prices illegally must pay restitution

November 9, 2008

ROCKVILLE A developer who demanded that customers pay more for building their homes and threatened to stop work if they didn't pay will make restitution. Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler said Edward Smart, who owned Smart Development/Premiere Homes, will pay $925,000. Smart must pay $75,000 in penalties and legal costs incurred by the Maryland Division of Consumer Protection. Gansler said Smart used illegal clauses in contracts that allowed the company to terminate contracts when home prices rose. Then, Gansler says, the company required customers to pay more to build the home.

Associated Press