Association for downtown Lake Worth condo owners sues developer

Article Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post

By Willie Howard

Published May 31, 2011

— LAKE WORTH --- The association that operates The Lucerne, a six-story condominium in the heart of downtown, sued the developer recently in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, claiming shoddy workmanship and failure to comply with building codes.

The lawsuit, filed May 13 on behalf of The Lucerne Association Inc., a nonprofit association of owners, also claims the developer, The Lucerne LLC, failed to pay $58,083 due to the owners' association based on audited turnover financial statements.

The suit also names as defendants the contractor, The Weitz Co., and architect Marc Wiener, claiming both are liable for the condo's failure to meet minimum building codes.

Problems at the 80-unit condo outlined in the lawsuit include leaking windows and sliding glass doors in condo units, poor drainage in the pool equipment room, paver bricks that settled on the pool deck, cracking stucco on perimeter walls around the pool and water seeping into parts of the parking garage.

A report by the engineering firm Kimley-Horn and Associates found that at least some of the building's elevators were not connected to emergency power and had no system for lowering themselves to a designated floor in the event of a power failure.

The Kimley-Horn report also listed several building code violations, including missing or improperly placed fire exit signs, the lack of a fire escape route map in elevator corridors, fire escape doors that opened in the wrong direction and water shut-off valves placed behind washing machines that were not easily accessible.

The lawsuit asks for a jury trial. It seeks money to make the needed repairs along with interest and other costs, as well as the money owed to the association based on the turnover financial statements.

Condo owner Greg Rice, who is vice president of the owners' association, said the lawsuit was filed in part to protect unit owners from missing deadlines for the developer to make repairs. The condominium was turned over to the association in May 2007.

"We want to make sure we're legally protecting the owners' investments," Rice said.

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