Judgment settles suit against developer, Aetna for shoddy construction at Oak Park complex
April 9, 1999 - Residents
of an Oak Park condominium complex were jubilant Thursday over an
apparent $8.4 million settlement of a lawsuit alleging shoddy
construction by an Orange County developer and Aetna Life Insurance,
which underwrote the project.
"We
have 440 homes here, and this is very important for us," said Gerald
Kline, 37, president of the Shadow Ridge Homeowners Association and a
seven-year resident of the complex.
"Now
the real work begins," he said.
"We need to intelligently devote this money to correcting the
defects and bring this complex up to the standards of this
community."
Plaintiffs
said the award in the case, filed in 1997, would be the first or
second-largest ever in a Ventura County case related to construction
defects.
The
settlement was reached through an arbitration hearing Thursday.
It will be made official today in Orange County Superior Court,
attorney Thomas Miller said.
"The
defects were roof leaks, deck leaks, window leaks, stucco cracks and
electrical and plumbing problems," Miller said.
"When the association took control from the developer they
began to realize they were paying out a lot of money to repair these
problems."
Attorneys
for Aetna and Sares-Regis Group, the builders, did not respond to
repeated telephone calls Thursday.
Pene Mariner, a spokeswoman for Sares-Regis in Irvine, said she
could not comment on the settlement.
The
complex, at 653 Indian Oak Lane in Oak Park, an unincorporated
community in Ventura County territory, has more than 1,000 residents.
Plaintiffs
said the 9-year-old complex has been plagued with leaks and other
problems for years. The
defects were made worse by last winter's heavy rains, they said.
"Unbeknownst
to this board of directors, the developer has sued some of these same
subcontractors to get some of these defects repaired," Miller said.
"The repairs weren't made . . . nothing was taken
care."
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