Liberty
Center
Re-Construction Begins
June 15th
with
Legal Action Following
Shortly Thereafter
By now if you are a unit owner in Sun
City Anthem, you have probably received a copy of a letter sent by a Mr. Francis Lynch of The Law Offices of
Lynch Hopper Smith, LLP, the law firm representing
Sun City Anthem, to the association unit owners.
This firm has been retained to
represent our association against Pulte regarding supposed construction defects
associated with the Liberty Center.
On the back of the correspondence of
the letter sent to association unit owners is a response to Mr. Lynch from a
Mr. Jason Williams of The Law
Offices of Koeller, Nebecker, Carlson & Haluck, LLP , who is representing the interests of Del Webb Communities, Inc. and PN
II, Inc. (d.b.a. Pulte Homes of Nevada).
As you examine the contents of the
letter from Mr. Williams to Mr. Lynch, Pulte rejects the
claim that the purported defects "constitute threats to health and
safety", calling attention to Sun City Anthem's repairs of the structure in
October, 2015 and their not being informed of any claim until they were served
notice.
Mr. Lynch's letter further states that
Pulte understands that the association is making claims relating to the
following aspects of the Liberty Center building:
1. Roof
2. Solar Panels
3. Floors
4. Heating & Air Conditioning
5. Electrical
6. Locker Rooms
7. Mold
...and (not surprisingly) denies any liability.
However, apparently both parties have
agreed to a meeting scheduled for September 20-21,
2016 with a mediator named Keith
Hunter.
Anthem Opinions made an attempt to
identify Keith Hunter, and the only individual we
could find by that name was through a web site called
medication.com.
Though we "assume" that both parties
have agreed to this individual initially being retained to "mediate" the
dispute, if this be the case, one has to question WHY a mediator was
retained from a law firm on "Wilshire Blvd" in Santa Monica, California to handle a Nevada
dispute....
...the cost of which was not
disclosed...and in all likelihood ASTRONOMICAL
!
The September date was evidently chosen
to allow FULL REPAIRS to the Liberty Center to be completed by that
date.
Our "opinion"
?
Get ready for a
LONG and COSTLY process against a company that will probably resist any form of settlement due to the complications
it would create for the many other Pulte / Del Webb communities across the
United States.
In the meanwhile, the
Liberty Center repairs will be made, and BE PAID FOR THROUGH
FUNDS CONTRIBUTED BY UNIT OWNERS transferred from association reserves.
...and rumor mill has it...
...that tab will be approximately $500,000...
...on top of the $100,000 already paid by the insurer.
The attorney representing Sun City Anthem has been retained on a contingency basis, but additional miscellaneous costs are paid by the association and subtracted from any settlement in addition to those fees.
Adding those expenses together...
...the anticipated increase in insurance premiums due to the adverse claims experience...
...and the time involved to litigate this affair...
... and our guess is this will be a long nightmare that will inevitably result of some form of additional cost to unit owners...
...whether that be an inevitable increase in annual dues or some form of special one time assessment.
We want to be wrong, but our years of experience in the insurance industry involving such legal matters leads us to this inevitable conclusion.
Got a comment ? Send it to us at:
Anthem Opinions Administration
I think that the board president who signed for Liberty Center should pay for the repairs.
Who signs off on a project like this without getting a complete inspection of the building?
As Robert N. so aptly put it, in our opinion that was either "arrogantly stupid" or "stupidly arrogant".