Builders
Settles with Oak Park Homeowners in lawsuit over shoddy work
April 12, 1999 - Oak
Park – Julie DeBenedictis was overwhelmed Friday by the news that
the leaks in her roof would finally be fixed.
She
had just learned here homeowners association had won $8.4 million in a
settlement by guilders of their homes.
The settlement agreement was filed in Orange County Superior
Court Friday.
"It's
over with, thank God," she said.
"It means that now I won't have my garage leaking and
everything will be fixed now."
When
DeBenedictis, 30, moved into her townhouse in the Shadow Ridge
development east of Oak Canyon Park four years ago, she thought she
was moving into a picture-perfect community with two pools, two tennis
courts and lots of happy neighbors.
But
as soon as it started raining, water started leaking through her patio
and in through the garage roof. She
later found out that other residents had the same problems, including
water seeping through windows, sliding doors and roofs.
Thomas
E. Miller, attorney for the association of 440 homeowners, said they
filed suit in 1997 against developer Regis Construction Co. and its
40-plus subcontractors after they realized the common water leaks, bad
plumbing and electrical problems might stem from poor construction.
"Unbeknownst
to the homeowners in 1996, the developer had already turned around and
sued some of their subcontractors because they recognized in a
separate lawsuit that some of these subcontractors screwed up,"
Miller said.
Attorney
Richard Glucksman, who represents Regis Construction, would not
discuss the other lawsuit but said subcontractors hired by Regis will
pay most of the settlement.
"There's
no admission of liability or acknowledgment of defects," Glucksman
said. "It's really
expensive to litigate these kinds of cases. That made it the time to
settle."
No
resident seemed as happy as Gerald Kline, community association
president, who bought his condominium seven years ago and has had
ceiling leaks ever since.
"It's
a lot of Money," Kline said. "The
association is going to be extremely strong financially.
We'll not only have the money to fix the problems but keep
the place [well maintained] for a number of years," Kline said.
"It means that everybody is going to have a property that's
more valuable."
Miller
said the association should have its money within 30 days.
At that time, Kline said, it will hire an architect and
engineer to inspect the units and a contractor to make the repairs.
"The
work is only now starting," he said.
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