Water Damage

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Stucco is a product that has been in use as an exterior building cladding since the early 1800’s. It is made from Portland cement, sand and water. When installed correctly, stucco has been a reliable building material that looks good and allows incidental moisture infiltrating behind the stucco to be safely and efficiently evacuated from the building. Once stucco dries it is as hard as concrete.
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Continue Reading What’s Wrong With the Stucco on Our Buildings?

Brick is among the materials that are most commonly used as an exterior cladding material on condominiums and other residential buildings in New Jersey. If correctly installed and maintained, it will usually last for the life of the building without allowing water to penetrate inside the wall cavity where it can damage sheathing and framing. Nevertheless, we are routinely called upon to assist condominium and homeowner’s associations that have reports of damage to their buildings caused by deficient design and/or installation of brick.
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Continue Reading What Can the Association Do About Damage From Water Infiltration Through Brick?

The November 16, 2016 issue of the Wall Street Journal ran an article about Celebration, Florida, which is the master-planned community built by The Walt Disney Company in 1996. The title of the article summarized the state of affairs in Celebration as follows: “There Is Little Celebration in the Town Disney Built: Mold, leaks, rot are hurting the 1990s utopia; ‘they’re harassing my team.’” My initial thought was that if this can happen to a community built by the world’s most famous mouse, it is little wonder that a large portion of my practice involves representing community associations in lawsuits against developers and architects for construction and design deficiencies.
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Continue Reading Disney-Built Community Faces Serious Construction Deficiencies

Community associations are often given common elements in transition that incur damage from design and/or construction deficiencies. Associations typically have limited funds. Even those with ample financial resources are usually governed by Boards whose members are keenly aware of the fact that the Association’s funds are trust monies that need to be carefully managed and…

Buying a home is one of the most rewarding, yet potentially costly, life experiences. Construction takes months, sometimes years, and despite the existence of building codes and municipal oversight, mistakes happen. Due to the concealed nature of construction (e.g. important construction elements get closed up by siding, cladding, and drywall), mistakes are hidden and unidentified…

On March 11, 2008, in the matter of Camelot Condominium Association, Inc v. Dryvit Systems, Inc., pending before the Superior Court of New jersey, Docket No. BER-L-012457-04, a jury entered a verdict in favor of the Plaintiff and against Dryvit Systems, Inc (“Dryvit”) for violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. Dryvit Systems…

After a bench trial, a judge in New Haven, Connecticut ruled that the seller of a house that had obvious, visible mold damage – black mold stains in the utility room and water stained and rotted wood inside – had intentionally concealed the existence of this problem, and was liable to the buyers for the cost to prevent further water intrusion, the cost to repair the damage caused by past water intrusion, and $25,000 for emotional distress.
Continue Reading Lying Home Seller Found Liable for Hiding Mold

Your home inspector probably advised you that it’s good sense to prevent possible water damage by turning off the water to your second home when you’re not in residence. But if you neglect to do so and your defective toilet floods the condominium unit downstairs, New Jersey courts may not hold you liable for the damage to your neighbor’s home.
Continue Reading Water Damage From Above