By JR Robinson, CEO/Co-Founder, JustMyMemphis

The House That Wasn't

Joe Pereira has spent more than 19 years running into burning buildings to save lives. His wife Julie has spent almost two decades fighting for disabled veterans first through Social Security and VA disability cases—with her former nonprofit, and now on her free time she helps fellow veterans and their families navigate benefits like chapter 35 and ChampVA. Both are service-oriented to their core. Both believe in doing things the right way.

In June 2021, they bought their forever home in Lakeland, Tennessee.

Three days after moving in their kitchen was flooded by a damaged dishwasher that the builder was aware of, and that appeared on their inspection report for repairs. The builder never took action because they reassured the Pereira’s that the damage was cosmetic only.  During this three month kitchen repair, the Pereira’s spent 30 days without gas, water or electricity in their kitchen.

Not by accident. Not for negligence. But for speaking publicly about the defects in their home.

This is the story of what happens when a family with service in their DNA encounters a system with none.

The Rushed Closing

Before we get to the lawsuits, we have to understand the trap.

In 2020, Joe relocated from Seattle to Memphis to serve as a firefighter with the Memphis Fire Department. Julie, a Navy veteran, was excited to build roots in a new community. They have six children. They needed stability. They found a Regency Homebuilders, LLC development in Lakeland and signed a contract.

Then problems started—before they even owned the home.

"During construction, we noticed issues with grading, drainage, homecoming of the foundation, a monolithic foundation pour that was not vibrated, excessive fill," Julie told me in a recent interview. "We raised concerns early. We asked for inspections. We requested basic assurances the home was being built safely. Those requests were denied or dismissed."

The Pereiras grew nervous. They had seen nearly 100 issues during the build process. They hired an independent engineer to evaluate the home before closing—a prudent decision for a $680,000 investment.

That engineer gave them a "clean bill of health."

What they didn't know: that engineer had an undisclosed professional relationship with Regency. This engineer was also involved in litigation with Regency on another home. The engineer never disclosed any of this.

Then came the pressure.

"We asked for mutual cancellation," Julie explained. "We didn't want to close. We had far too many concerns about the home and Regency’s refusal to disclose basic documents that would assure us things were done correctly was a red flag.  But- Regency had about $150,000 of our money in upgrades. We wrote to the owner asking to discuss it. He declined and had someone respond saying: their house was ready, that they needed to close on or before June 4 and if they did not, they would be in breach of contract and appropriate legal action would be taken.

Julie was direct about how this felt: "I responded and said, 'I do not appreciate being low-key bullied into closing on a house that is not ready.' We felt blackmailed. We were backed into a corner."

They closed on June 4th, 2021.

Three days later, the dishwasher flooded the kitchen.

The Lawsuit That Changed Everything

For months, the Pereiras dealt with the defects. Flooding. Plumbing failures beneath the slab. Cracking. Shifting. Ongoing drainage problems. Dozens of Regency employees and subcontractors in and out of their home almost every day for months. After Regency began denying and dragging out the warranty process, they sent Regency a demand letter listing a handful of issues Regency had not, or was refusing to fix, and asking for resolution  

Regency's response came a few months later.

They sued Julie.

Not Joe. Julie. And not for the defects—for violating an ILLEGAL non-disparagement clause in her contract, for defamation and for allegedly "interfering with the warranty process" by telling contractors which toilet they needed to fix when Regency didn't show up.

This is where the story gets darker.

The lawsuit came after Julie and Joe had started sharing their experience publicly on social media—carefully documenting the defects with photos and videos. Everything they posted, Julie insists, could be substantiated. "I could substantiate everything," she told me. "A photo, a video, a report. I have the receipts."

Regency's lawsuit is known in legal circles as a SLAPP suit—Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. These are lawsuits designed not to win on the merits, but to silence dissent through the cost and burden of litigation itself.

"It's a war of attrition," Julie explained. "They have enormous financial resources. We don’t.  They thought this would shut me up."

Here's the brutal part: it almost worked. The Pereiras tried mediation three separate times. Regency wanted one thing.  The Pereiras wanted something else: either buy back the house or fix the problems.

Mediation went nowhere.

Then came arbitration, which the Pereiras discovered is a different kind of trap entirely.

The Arbitration Trap

In arbitration, you pay for the arbitrator—usually an attorney or retired judge. You pay their hourly rate, split with the other party, in addition to your own attorney's fees.

By November 2024, the Pereiras had lost Julie's second full-time job. They couldn't afford the arbitrator anymore.

Under the federal arbitration Act, they had to offer Regency the opportunity to pay to keep the case going. Regency responded with a calculated move: they would pay for their own lawsuit against Julie, but not for her counterclaim against them. They would cover the arbitration costs only for their claims.

The arbitration company said the case and counterclaim were "intertwined"—one case, not two. You pay for both or neither.

Regency chose neither.

Since November 2025, the first arbitration case has been sitting in "utter limbo," as Julie put it. Over seven months of nothing.

Then, in January 2026, Regency filed a second lawsuit. This time they added Joe. And they hired someone to comb through every Facebook post—both Julie's and Joe's—from the previous year. They created screen recordings of every post about Regency and alleged everything was defamatory.

The Pereira’s responded within the required 30 days with a counterclaim. Regency had until mid-March to respond.

They haven't. But they've recently started trying to pick an arbitrator for the second case—a process that will likely pause anyway, since the Pereiras still have no way to pay.

"We're stuck," Julie said. "We filed a response, we filed a counterclaim. They sued us, we sued them again. And now we're in limbo on a second lawsuit that probably won't go anywhere because we can’t  afford it."

The Bigger Problem: Why County Officials Know and Do Nothing

Here's what makes this story larger than one family's tragedy.

The Pereiras' home was certified (in lieu of a county inspection) by an engineering firm called AFA Engineering. The engineer who signed off on their foundation was Linda Prather, of Foundation Engineering Management. The person who allegedly performed the inspection was David Al-Chockachi of AFA Engineering.

There's one problem: AFA Engineering has not held an active Tennessee engineering license since 2004.

The original owner, AF Al-Chockachi, died in 2004. His son, David, took over the business and has been operating it under his father's defunct firm name ever since—for 22 years.

David Al-Chockachi is not a licensed engineer. He was introduced to the Pereiras by Regency as "our engineer" and told them he "inspected your foundation." In a recorded conversation on their front porch, he presented himself as an engineer.

Documents provided by the Pereira’s show that AFA engineering/David Al-Chockachi invoiced Regency homebuilders for “foundation survey” “foundation inspection” and other activities reserved for a licensed engineer, on their property.

He is not one.

Julie discovered this while researching the firm. She filed a complaint with the Tennessee Board of Architects and Engineers. The board confirmed: AFA Engineering has been closed since 2004 and never renewed its license.

The Board of architects and engineers issued a warning to Linda Prather for four violations, including her decision to supervise an unlicensed individual – thus allowing this person to escape the licensure requirements.

Julie also filed a complaint with the Tennessee board of contractors. The state's legal report acknowledged that Regency used an unlicensed engineer on the Pereiras' foundation.  Mrs. Pereira also provided the board of contractors with proof that this unlicensed engineer was used on at least 35 other homes by Regency.  The Board of contractors elected to close the Pereira’s  complaint without action because they are in active litigation. 

In April 2025, Mrs. Pereira notified the Shelby County building department that AFA engineering was unlicensed, but the county continued to accept Foundation form letters from them. 

When Julie informed county officials that they were accepting fraudulent engineering letters, the response was telling. Ron Betheda, the county's code official, told her plainly: "Unless the state tells us to stop, we're not going to stop."

She then sent a notice letter to all Shelby County commissioners, all county attorneys, the mayor, and the fire marshal: you are now on notice that an unlicensed engineer has been certifying foundations for years. You cannot claim immunity.

The county went silent.

When she followed up with the county attorney, Robert Rowling, his response was to claim he couldn't talk to her because she mentioned "litigation" (she was in litigation with Regency, not the county) and cite a supposed Supreme Court ruling.

"Crickets," Julie said. "Not one of those people met with me. Not one."

(At the time this interview was conducted no county officials had met with ther Pereira’s)

A Pattern of Conflicts

The unlicensed engineer issue is just one layer.

The Pereira’s also hired Kevin Poe, of Poe Engineering, to inspect the home before closing. They  paid him. He said the house was fine. That letter was the only reason they closed.

What she didn't know: Kevin Poe had already done work for Regency. He failed to disclose this long term relationship.  He had also designed helical piers for Regency's Windsor Park neighborhood in Bartlett—a development built on a gravel pit where houses are sinking. At the time he inspected the Pereiras' home, Kevin Poe was involved in an active lawsuit with Regency over at least one of those sinking homes.

He never disclosed any of this.

Later, when the Pereiras' 26 foot trench was open, Regency hired Kevin Poe again to inspect work on the Pereira’s property. According to Tennessee's Rules of Professional Conduct for Engineers, an engineer cannot do work on the same project without written permission from both parties. Kevin Poe didn't ask.

He came back two more times for Regency without permission.

When Julie asked Kevin Poe for copies of the engineering letters Regency commissioned, he said the others "belonged to Regency" and he'd need Regency's permission to release them.

But here's what's stunning: in January 2022, before Regency sued the Pereiras, Regency emailed Kevin Poe asking for the Pereiras' letters. Kevin Poe sent them—without the Pereiras' permission. An ethical violation.

The state's investigation into Kevin Poe concluded: "Based on the circumstances, they do not believe Kevin Poe could have been impartial."

"That right there shows the clear bias of who he favors," Julie told me. "He favors Regency. And in my humble opinion, that's a problem because if he favors Regency, his inspection and assurance is that there is nothing wrong with our foundation come from unclean hands, and they aren’t worth the paper they’re written on."

Working 86 Hours a Week to Pay for the Right to Be Silent

Julie is now working three jobs, up to 86 hours a week, to pay for attorneys and expenses to fight lawsuits in arbitration that can't proceed because the Pereira’s can afford the arbitrator. When Joe is is not working sleepless 24 hour shifts with the fire department, he is working other jobs to help with the legal expenses.

She's also managing Facebook groups for veterans, specifically chapter 35 and ChampVA—work she does on her own time, before and after her federal job. She does this for free. She does it because "it needs to be done and who the hell else is gonna do it if I don't?"

According to the arbitrator, arbitration strips her of TPPA protections—the Tennessee Public Participation Act, designed specifically to prevent companies from using lawsuits to silence critics like Regency is doing here. 

Joe and Julie have spent close to $300,000 in legal fees and interest 

Julie believes Regency has used the arbitration process to manipulate and control the litigation process, rather than move the case toward resolution. The Pereiras are caught in what Julie calls "a war of attrition."

And they're trapped in the house itself. They bought at 2.25% interest—a historic low. Current rates are around 7%. To refinance or replace the home now would cost them close to a million dollars over the life of a loan.

"We will never see that again in our lifetime," Julie said quietly.
 

Why This Matters Beyond One House

If this were just one family's tragedy, it would be heartbreaking but isolated.

But here's what keeps me up at night as a Memphis journalist:

1. How many homes has AFA Engineering certified? The unlicensed firm has been operating for 22 years. They work for multiple builders: Regency, Magnolia, Green Homes, Southern Serenity. How many foundations are compromised? Mrs. Pereira has shown me AFA engineering/consulting on at least 65 Regency homes

2. Why does Shelby County allow builders to hire their own engineers? There is no county foundation inspector. Builders have permission to hire their own engineers. This is structural conflict of interest.

3. Why do county officials admit violations but refuse to enforce them? Rita from Code Enforcement wrote the Pereiras a letter saying Regency didn't pour concrete correctly. But when asked to write another letter documenting code violations, the county "got really weird" and refused.

4. Who knew what, and when? The state confirmed Regency used an unlicensed engineer. The board of contractors acknowledged this in their legal report. Shelby County has been on notice since Julie's letter. Yet nothing changes, Regency was issued nothing more than a warning for their conduct.

5. How many other families are silenced by arbitration clauses? The Pereiras heard from other Regency buyers who were told at closing that they were not allowed to say anything negative about Regency due to the non-disparagement clause in the contract. A clause the Attorney General‘s office just informed Regency was illegal under the consumer review fairness act of 2016.

What Comes Next

This is Part 1 of an 8-part investigation. In the coming weeks, JustMyMemphis will:

• Investigate the unlicensed engineer scheme and how many homes it affects
• Examine why county officials refuse to enforce violations to builders,despite being on notice but will use them to individuals 
• Report on the engineers and their conflicts of interest
• Find other families trapped in defective Regency homes and silenced by arbitration
• Hold local government accountable for regulatory capture and non-enforcement
• Explore the broader question: Does Memphis protect the service members who come here to serve?

Julie Pereira is a Navy veteran. Her husband is a firefighter. Their oldest two boys are in the Marines, and their daughter is putting herself through college at UTK. They did everything right. They trusted the system. The system failed them—and then sued them for saying so.