September 12, 1998 - Owners of condominium units that were heavily damaged in March when Niguel Summit
subdivision homes crashed down a slope on them have reached a $9.4-million settlement with
two Orange County developers.
The Crown Valley Parkway Homeowners Assn., representing the homeowners, settled Friday
with Hon Development Co. and the owner of J.M. Peters Inc., developers of the Niguel
Summit project.
The suit was filed in 1994 but received widespread attention after the landslide sent
homes from Niguel Summit tumbling down the slope and upending five condominiums in the
Crown
Cove complex.
The lawsuit was filed after years of buckling and stress damage to the 41-unit complex.
After
the March 19 landslide, geologists determined that the slope was moving 3 inches a day.
Under the settlement, Hon and Capital Pacific Holdings, which owns J.M. Peters, agreed
to
buy out all 41 homeowners and give them $100,000 for relocation, according to a statement
issued by the homeowner's attorney Thomas E. Miller and the defendants.
"There is some relief in reaching a settlement," said Mike DeStefano,
president of the homeowners group, in the statement. "Although the initial shock has
worn off, we will never really get over this." The group had sought $15 million.
Residents of the condominium complex, completed in 1980, started seeing problems in
1986
after construction of Niguel Summit began with the regrading and buttressing of the slope
above them.
Half of the condominium owners already have evacuated. The remaining residents are
expected to move by December.
© Copyright 2008 The Miller Law Firm. All rights Reserved.
If you experience problems or have questions, contact us at Info@ConstructionDefects.com.
|
