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The Vanderbilt III condominiums in Naples are shown on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. |
As a result, the condo owners have filed
against their HOA, requesting the association enclose the
condos, turn over the insurance funds designated for
repairs, install doors, restore utilities to the condos,
repair lanais or refund the monies designated for lanai
repair to the owners so they can proceed with repairs, and
more.
The suit alleges breach of fiduciary duty and declaration,
and as such requests equitable relief and appointment of a
receiver.
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Damage from Hurricane Ian remains visible on the ground floor at the Vanderbilt III condominiums in Naples on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. The units remain gutted from water and storm damage. |
Penoyer even said she'd had bicycles and
other expensive or cherished items stored in her demo'd
condo go missing, thanks to the walls being gone. Recently,
she said, the condo has put up sliding glass doors to
enclose the first floor, but the damage was already done.
Vanderbilt III HOA president John Dalia declined to comment
beyond saying that he had worked for ten months to get
construction underway, and that they were on schedule. He
said he believed it would be finished soon but could not
commit to a date.
"We are doing everything possible to deliver the units to
our owners and get them back in their houses," Dalia said.
Hurricane Ian's storm surge reached a height of more than
ten feet at Delnor-Wiggins Pass, effectively drowning
Vanderbilt III's entire first floor.
The Category 4 storm directly and indirectly killed more
than 150 people and was responsible for more than $112
billion in damage in the U.S. More than $110 billion of that
damage was specific to Florida, making it the costliest
hurricane in Florida history, a 2023 report by the National
Hurricane Center found.
To-date, insurers have reported a total of nearly $20
billion in estimated insured losses and a total of more than
750,000 claims to the Florida Office of Insurance
Regulation, data shows.
Many, like Penoyer and her neighbors, are still displaced by
the hurricane as they wait for construction to be completed.
The first-floor condos have been walled off from the
entrance of the building so the other residents don't have
to see the empty, echoing cavern of concrete and studs.
Despite filing the injunction on an emergency basis in the
fall, much to their frustration, the residents have yet to
see a court date or a change in their condos.
In a responsive filing, Vanderbilt III's HOA denied that the
plaintiffs were entitled to the funding they requested, and
responded to all allegations by saying further proof is
needed before it can affirm or refute anything.
A search of Collier County code enforcement records turned
up an application for a permit to reconstruct the first
floor, issued Jan. 12, 2024. The permit expires in July.
The permit allows for reconstruction of the common area and
hallways damaged by the hurricane, including replacing
damaged studs, rusted-out plates and missing wall studs,
removal of damaged studs, drywall, walls and the drop
ceiling, as well as replacement of valves, tubs and drains.
Attorney Robert Bernstein, who represents the nine
first-floor condo owners, said he hoped after waiting so
long for repairs to their homes that the owners would soon
get relief. He hoped a judge would rule in their favor,
allowing them to see insurance proceeds placed in their
hands and repairs begun on their homes.
"We're more than a year and a half out from the hurricane
and my clients are no closer to moving back into their
homes," he said.