Unlicensed work at condo sparks lawsuits

Article Courtesy of The Herald-Tribune

By Josh Salman

Published July 27, 2014

 

LONGBOAT KEY - Complaints that the president of the Arbomar Condominium homeowners' association has been performing contracting work on units without a license has sparked lawsuits and internal turmoil at the beachfront complex. 

The ongoing dispute has already led to the firing of the building's manager, lawsuits against association board members and formal complaints to state building officials. Some residents of the 31-unit complex are even pushing for an association election recall.

“If we didn't catch them and file a lawsuit, they would have kept on doing it,” said Scott Rupp, whose family lives in the 40-year-old complex about midway up the barrier island and fronting the Gulf of Mexico.

 

“There were plans for other unlicensed work to be done in the building. This board is making decisions in a closet, even though they're required to be made in public by law, and they're just doing whatever they want to do.”

A group of Arbomar residents filed a lawsuit in late May against association president Walter “Chip” Major and three other members of the association's five-member board.

The suit alleges Major renovated several units without a license, organized board meetings without proper transparency, spent association funds on attorneys without full homeowners' consent and levied new assessments without a required budget meeting.

The Arbomar Condominium on Longboat Key.


The seven-page complaint contends that Major also breached his fiduciary duty by ignoring association bylaws that prohibit certain unit work without board approval.

Major, a former contractor from Maryland who records show does not hold a contractor's license in Florida, did not return several calls for comment this week.

Complaints

Rupp and others say Major renovated at least three units without proper approvals, and violated building code rules by using materials that have been known to cause fire and flooding hazards. 

No permits were obtained for Major's work at the 4485 Gulf of Mexico Drive complex, court and state records show.

“When requesting approval for remodeling, owners require their contractors to file a copy of all contracts, drawings, insurance and permits with the manager prior to beginning work on the unit,” one lawsuit states.

“The Defendants did not follow this required procedure,” it continues. “As a result, renovations have been made within the condominium building by an unlicensed contractor, Defendant Major, which are in violation of building codes and which endanger the safety of the building's occupants.”

The Town of Longboat Key's building department shut down the project, and a formal complaint against Major has also been filed with the state's unlicensed activity administrator in Tallahassee, according to documents obtained by the Herald-Tribune.

Major and the other board members mailed a May 15 letter to unit owners apologizing for the mistake. The letter also says the board will quickly take appropriate steps to fix the errors in each of the three condos.

But some residents are still not satisfied and they want Major to step down.

Condo owners also say the Arbomar board paid $2,500 to hire a law firm to fight the lawsuit without public notice.

“They can't stay in these roles after they broke the law,” said Peter DiNicola, a part-time resident who filed the lawsuit. “They have to get out, and they have to fix things. I want the building back in a safe position, and I want the people responsible to be held accountable.”

The unlicensed work led to the termination of building manager Kent Lagro, who first reported the issues to government officials. His firing stems from advice apparently provided by Travelers Insurance, the association board's insurer.

Some residents, however, maintain that decision was in retaliation for Lagro's disclosures.

During his five years at Arbomar, Lagro's work was never cited as inadequate or unsatisfactory, board records show.

Lagro, whose wife is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments for breast cancer — which are now in jeopardy stemming from his loss of income — may also file a lawsuit against the board.

“Anyone who wants to do a remodel must get a permit, and it was my job as manager to show them how, and then they took it from there,” said Lagro, who lives in an Arbomar unit.

“This has been going on for a number of years, with unlicensed work by the board president. So we asked the inspections department to take a look at it, and they red-flagged it. There was no reason for my firing. I was in the way, that's all.”

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