Residents of a 52-unit condominium building in Berkeley County that has been riddled with construction defects for more than a decade have confidentially settled a lawsuit against its developer and builders for $11.6 million, their attorneys report.
John Hayes and Nina Meola of the Hayes Law Firm in Charleston and Keith McCarty of Charleston said that the complex was built in 2005. Since then, owners have been plagued with multiple defects to the building, including significant water intrusion that required extensive stucco, brick, and window removal to repair it, Hayes said.
“From almost the beginning, it became apparent that there were severe problems,” he said. “Basically the building was under construction from 2005 until 2017. It just never ended.”
The condo owners initially agreed to let the builders continue to try to fix the problem.
Hayes
“They ended up having to come back over and over and eventually it became apparent that they could not fix it, or weren’t going to fix it correctly,” Hayes said. “So we filed suit to get the money to have contractors of our choosing to fix the problems.”
The condo owners and developer and 15 contractors reached the settlement over a course of four mediations, which lasted two to three days each, Hayes said.
“The defense was that it wasn’t me, it was the other person, or it’s not going to cost as much as you all say it’s going to cost it to fix it,” he said. “There was a lot of finger-pointing. [The owners] endured living in buildings that leaked and were under constant repair. We are grateful to provide them with some finality and hope they can go about their lives and not continuously live in fear of problems with their homes.”
Due to a confidentiality agreement, other details about the lawsuit, including the names of the defendants and their attorneys, were not available.
Follow Bill Cresenzo on Twitter @bcresenzosclw
SETTLEMENT REPORT — CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS
Amount: $11,608,333
Injuries alleged: Structural failing, stucco failing, water intrusion, loss of use
Case name: Withheld
Court: Berkeley County Circuit Court
Case No.: Withheld
Mediator: Bill Lyles of Charleston
Date of settlement: Aug. 22, 2019
Attorneys for plaintiff: John Hayes and Nina Meola of the Hayes Law Firm in Charleston and Keith McCarty of Charleston
Attorneys for defendants: Withheld