Hayes Valley Condo Building Recovers $1.7 Million for Faulty Construction in Less than Two Years

SAN FRANCISCO, June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A contemporary condominium building at the 525 Gough Street building has recouped $1.7 million for numerous construction defects.   Failure of weatherproofing systems on the roof, windows, decks and doors, with water intrusion into the interior walls, floors and ceilings plagued this 2005 building and damages of $75,000 per unit were recovered.

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The 21-unit residential and 2-unit commercial building in the 515-521-525 Gough Street Owners' Association is located in the neighborhood where Civic Center, Western Addition and Hayes Valley converge.   The settlement was reached in mediation in less than 2 years from the date of the filing of the complaint in Superior Court.  The recovery is being funded by insurance companies for the builder, 527 Gough Street, LLC, the general contractor, JPS Builders, and subcontractors.

"California builders have the right to repair construction defects before a lawsuit is filed under pre-litigation 'The Right to Repair Law'," said attorney Thomas E. Miller of The Miller Law Firm. "The Association sent a notice of defects in advance of filing a complaint but the builders never responded.  Because most builders today set up their developments as Limited Liability Companies or 'LLC's' and fold the company after the project is completed, depleting any assets, we are sometimes left with no response from the LLC members and, therefore, our only option is to file a lawsuit."

According to Mary Jacobs of Eugene Burger Management Corporation, "It is difficult for any Association to find themselves in a lawsuit, yet holding the parties that caused the damages responsible for the repairs, instead of the homeowners, may be the best approach for the Homeowners Association and all owners.  The Association has gained a successful level of recovery for damages through this legal pursuit."  

Thomas E. Miller and Rachel M. Miller of The Miller Law Firm (www.ConstructionDefects.com) have recovered over $500 million on behalf of Associations with construction defects, and are the co-authors of "Home and Condo Defects:  A Consumer Guide to Faulty Construction," (Seven Locks Press, 2012), available online at www.amazon.com.

Detailed information regarding this case can be accessed via the San Francisco Superior Court website at www.sftc.org, case number CGC-10-502564.

SOURCE The Miller Law Firm