Tamarac condo owners sue contractor about not fixing Wilma damage

Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel

By Lisa J. Huriash

Published August 26, 2007 

 

Tamarac -- Almost two years after Hurricane Wilma slammed Broward County, a lawsuit has been filed against the original contractors hired to repair Southgate Gardens condos. Residents said the contractor performed shoddy work, forcing them to hire a second contractor who needed to start repairs all over again.

The lawsuit was filed last month against First State Development in Margate, the former contractor; and Phoenix Management Services in Lauderdale Lakes, the former property managers. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages for residents who have lost the use of their homes "for an extraordinary and unreasonable amount of time."

It also names the Southgate Gardens Condominium Association as a defendant "for not ... researching ... the most ... competent and capable roofing or general contractors available."

 
Three residents who made up the condo board and had approved the contracts were voted out of their positions in November. They could not be reached for comment. The board is named in the suit because plaintiffs hope to collect the association's insurance money to help pay for repairs.

The suit lists one resident as the plaintiff, but attorney Joe Mitchell said he is seeking class-action status for the lawsuit.

David Perry, the contractor for First State Development, said he was close to finishing the work despite delays in receiving proper city permits and construction materials when his company was fired.

"At some point in time, residents would have been in their apartments if they had left everything alone," Perry said. "Everyone would have been back home by February or April. Everyone thinks you can do a $2-3 million project in a matter of days and it's not that way."

Kerry Frydman, a property manager for Phoenix Management Services who was once in charge of Southgate Gardens, said he could not comment on pending litigation.

Residents of the 108 condos have been unable to return to their units, built in 1987 as rental apartments and converted to condos a few years ago. Interior damage from Wilma includes holes in the ceilings, wet carpets and mold in kitchens.

Repairs have been slow. First State was hired to start the work a month after Wilma, in November 2005. A year later, the work still wasn't completed: mold was being painted over instead of removed, and the units were not dry inside, although First State had been paid $1.4 million, according to the suit.

First State was fired in December after residents complained items in their homes, including washers, dryers and refrigerators, had been stolen. Early this year, the Environmental Protection Agency halted repairs because the company allegedly did not remove asbestos properly, according to the suit, although work has since resumed.

As repairs dragged, the condo's board of directors hired an Orlando-based law firm to battle their insurance company for money. That attorney recommended the hiring of R & K Contracting Inc. in Fort Lauderdale to start the reconstruction process all over again. That firm started work in February.

The estimated price tag at the time: Another $10.2 million to restart construction, including work on the roof, plumbing and electrical systems. Stephen Smith, vice president of R & K Contracting, said vandals even stole copper wiring out of the units, and it needs to be replaced. And mold needs to be removed by "soda-blasting" the units with baking soda to eliminate the toxins. Because of the asbestos problems, the cost will go up, Smith said.

"Every unit needs to be gutted and reconstructed, new installation, new fixtures, new finishes," he said. "It's a really ugly situation all the way around. You have to pick up the pieces someone else left."

He said he couldn't estimate when work would be complete, but delays are inevitable without payment.

Perry denies there was asbestos and said he couldn't have painted over mold because he had painted only the parts where workers replaced the drywall. He said it would have been the responsibility of residents to complete the interior painting.

Guitree Basdeo is the resident named as the plaintiff. Because of refinancing, she still owes $95,000 on the condo mortgage and a $319 monthly condo maintenance fee even though she hasn't lived in her home since the storm.

Immediately after Wilma, she and her 11-year-old daughter moved into a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer in Margate until the government ended its assistance program in April. Since then, she has been renting a room from a friend in a two-bedroom Tamarac house for $600 a month.

The bills are mounting, she said, and so is her debt. And she has no idea when she'll be able to go back to her condo again.

"It's horrific not knowing where you are going to sleep, not knowing when you're going to come home," Basdeo said. "There are no more tears left."

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