Litigation – Latent Defects
After our client discovered its multi-family housing project contained significant hidden defects, we assisted it with investigating the defects, developing the necessary repair protocol and schedule, and prosecuting the legal claims against the responsible parties. We were there every step of the way and successfully forced a settlement to pay for the client’s repairs.
Situation
Our client developed a luxury multi-family housing project with approximately 350 units. After leasing the majority of the units, the client discovered defects primarily in the building envelope causing significant and wide-spread water intrusion related damage. The repair process was complicated by the occupancy of hundreds of tenants and the legal process was complicated by the timing of when the defects manifested themselves under the applicable law and policies. The contractors and insurance companies refused to implement proper repairs leaving the client stranded with over $10 million in damage.
Outcome
We guided the client throughout the entire recovery process. First, we perfected the client’s legal rights against all parties, assisted in developing a repair plan to minimalize impact to tenants, assisted in the hiring and management of forensic experts, designers, and contractors for the repairs, and managed the preservation of critical evidence during repairs to ensure success at trial. Next, we developed a global legal strategy to address the manifestation of damages which included filing two separate lawsuits against both the builders risk insurance carrier and general contractor. We efficiently managed both suits containing over 25 separate parties, and successfully forced a settlement to pay for the client’s damages.
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