For Immediate Release May 16, 2001

Ventura County Star By Deanna Glick

23 Months of Repairs Completed On Condos

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After 23 months of crews taking up residence on the roofs and on the walls of an Oak Park condominium complex, residents will celebrate having their homes back to normal and free of construction defects today.

Homeowners association board members for Shadow Ridge at Oak Park used nearly $7 million of a settlement won in 1999 to pay for repairs to the roofs, windows, decks and exterior walls of the complex off Doubletree Drive, said board President Gerry Kline.

The 10-year-old, 440-unit complex was plagued by extreme winter weather, including El Nino-driven storms. Several units suffered severe roof and deck leaks, water intrusion, and plumbing and electrical problems. The association claimed the problems were caused by construction defects resulting from architectural deficiencies and code violations.

"The main problem was water intrusion," said Kline, whose condo didn't have such defects. "We had it coming in through the walls and the windows."

Legal and reconstruction specialists involved in the project will give a presentation and tour of the property today.

Kline, who has lived in one of the condos for eight years, said he saw problems getting worse until board members sued the developer and builders, Regis Construction Co. of Irvine and Aetna Life Insurance Co.

Attorney Tom Miller represented the homeowners in their lawsuit, which was settled for $8.4 million with about $2 million going toward legal fees. Representatives from his Newport Beach firm said it was the largest construction-defect lawsuit in recent history.

A second settlement of nearly $2 million was reached earlier this year with the same developer for a smaller condominium complex across the street, Miller said.

Repair work on Shadow Ridge was completed in the past month.

"It was quite an undertaking," Miller said. "This is a very common situation. One-third of all (condominium projects) have defects like this."

Miller, who specializes in construction defect law and has published a consumer handbook on the topic due out later this month, said defects are more common in multiunit projects rather than single-family homes because of the multilayered buildings and large roof lines.

Kline said he's glad the debacle is over.

"We're looking forward to enjoying our homes and the increasing value of our property," he said.

"It'll be a nice summer."

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