Article
Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post
By
Jane Musgrave
Published
January 11, 2007
Claiming they were unfairly charged for
pools, shuffleboard courts, card rooms and a theater they couldn't use,
residents of Century Village of West Palm Beach have filed a $10 million
lawsuit against the owners of recreational facilities that were pummeled
by hurricanes in 2004.
The class-action lawsuit, filed on behalf
of the roughly 7,000 people who live in the massive retirement community
off Okeechobee Boulevard, says residents shouldn't have been forced to pay
the more than $100-a-month fee to use the amenities while repairs were
being made.
Instead, they claim, they should have only
paid for the fraction they could use - an estimated 30 percent.
Efforts to negotiate with the two companies
that own the facilities that are the hallmark of Century Village life were
met with hostility, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court
in West Palm Beach.
"Where class members have protested
... (the companies) have threatened legal action to collect purportedly
delinquent amounts and have further threatened to prohibit purportedly
delinquent unit owners from using what facilities were available,"
wrote Scott Link, one of the attorneys from two law firms that are
handling the case.
"Given that many unit owners and
lessees are older and more vulnerable, (the companies') threats have
proven an effective deterrent," he continued.
Joseph Friedman, a seven-year resident who
is suing on behalf of his neighbors, said the companies have aggressively
sought money from those who have refused to pay the full amount. It's not
fair, he said.
"The clubhouse was destroyed," he
said. "The facility is still not functioning at 100 percent. We would
just like our money back."
According to the lawsuit, the recreational
facilities are owned by New York-based The Benenson Capital Co., one of
the nation's oldest and most active privately held real estate companies
and leased to W.P.R.F. The West Palm Beach firm includes Irwin Levy - the
lawyer-turned-developer who coined the retiree-luring maxim - "We
give years to your life and life to your years." The phrase helped
turn Century Village, and later its counterparts in Boca Raton, Deerfield
Beach and Pembroke Pines, into a phenomenon.
The suit has been brewing for some time. It
has the backing of the United Civic Organization, the umbrella
organization for the various condominium associations within Century
Village.
In a holiday message to residents that
appears on the organization's web site, president George Loewenstein notes
that residents are "enthusiastically" behind the effort.
"Our legal counsel feels that we have
a very strong case and our side should prevail," Loewenstein wrote.
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