Meanwhile Back in Florida, The "Irony" Edition...

Started by CathyA3 • 9 replies • 432 views

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CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

The Miami Herald has published an article outlining "how decades of problems converged the night Champlain Towers fell":

House of Cards

This is really an eye-opening article. It sounds like the only surprise is that the collapse didn't happen sooner.

Meanwhile in Tallahassee, some lawmakers have drafted legislation to protect builders from frivolous lawsuits. In a bold move (ha!) a state Senate committee voted to limit homeowners’ ability to hold builders liable for “latent defects” in their homes. The original bill (SB 736) addresses developments across the state and is "not specific to the collapse of Champlain Towers South, in Surfside."

Despite this, people are reacting to what they view as an attempt to protect the perps while throwing the victims under the bus.

Caveat emptor, indeed.

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

I was yapping with my sister and surfing the web when I saw this. I have to wonder why people vote the way they do. This isn't so much about the parties these people are aligned with, but I have to wonder who they represent - really?

Everyone says what happened with Surfside and it may take years until we get the entire story, but in light of the fact that people died or were left honeless, why In the he'll would anyone write or support any legislation that would protect the rich folks who build these death traps??? More importantly, whothehell votes for these people over and over and over again? And then they wonder why things don't change....

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

AugustinD
Posts: 3,698

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By CathyA3 on 01/16/2022 11:14 AM
The Miami Herald has published an article outlining "how decades of problems converged the night Champlain Towers fell":

House of Cards

This is really an eye-opening article. It sounds like the only surprise is that the collapse didn't happen sooner.

Great report. Roots from planters on the pool deck are alleged to have been a major contributing factor. Around 2016-2017, the board began to report that said roots had penetrated water pipes in the garage.

[From a Nov 2017 communication to owners -- ]
“As anyone who has been in the garage can attest to, there is significant water intrusion that comes from the planters which we all see at street level,” the association wrote.

Most of the planters were never waterproofed at all, they added.

“Root systems from plants and palms inside planters have become so overgrown and strong over the many years that they have invaded the actual pipes that run between the ground level and the garage,” board members wrote in an email to residents. “At times roots were twelve feet into the pipes entirely filling the inside radius of the pipes.”

“This causes pipes to crack and results in water dripping down on vehicles and into the garage,” the email stated. “This is a very significant problem which we cannot ignore. This is a problem that has been developing for many years.”

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

It sounds like the collapse resulted from a combination of things like deliberate shortcuts in construction (eg., too few and inadequate support structures) as well as slightly out-of-left-field things such as plant roots escaping from their containers.

Whenever things go badly sideways, I always look for the Big Money Interests that profit from the status quo (and I humbly suggest that the proposed legislation is further evidence of the alliances among them). The only weapon homeowners have is refusing to buy these things - and that's not going to happen since HOAs/COAs are proliferating like cancer cells. Until people get well and truly fed up and grab the torches and pitchforks...

AugustinD
Posts: 3,698

Posted:

I am not ready yet to wave my hands and say, "We'll never really know what could have stopped the collapse." For one, I remain firm that ignoring repairs to address the roots in the water pipes in the garage area in 2017, causing water accumulation on concrete garage structural members, was unequivocally stupid. Too much can go wrong when water accumulates in the vicinity of buildings. If something's leaking on a HOA/COA's grounds, you fix it, post haste.

At least now people have this real life example on which to call when trying to persuade COA owners to fix something and cough up the money to do so.

BobD4 (up north)
Posts: 1,002

Posted:

Have not checked out the above yet. I understand the original principal declarant / partner ( ? ) now deceased, was actually a Canadian lawyer whose difficulties with the Law Society led him to relocate . . .

AugustinD
Posts: 3,698

Posted:

"[Canadian attorney Nathan] Reiber dabbled in real estate, co-owning apartment buildings in Burlington, Ontario, where he was charged with skimming money from coin laundry machines in the apartment buildings. He failed to answer the charges in court, and a warrant was issued for his arrest in January 1981. According to an Ontario Law Society document, Reiber allegedly evaded paying taxes and he and others were allegedly involved in making “false and deceptive” entries in the records of certain companies.

Reiber’s attorney admitted in front of a disciplinary committee for the Law Society that Reiber had failed to cooperate with the investigation into three tax charges. The committee allowed Reiber, who was not present at the hearing, to resign from the bar in 1984 with the understanding that he would not re-apply, according to records from the Ontario Law Society."

More at https://therealdeal.com/miami/2021/07/19/surfside-condo-developer-faced-legal-trouble-in-canada-found-clean-slate-in-south-florida/

MarshallT (New York)
Posts: 414

Posted:

That is unfortunate. While the collapse occurred due to a combination of things, you would think that states would want to make changes that hold developers more accountable, not less.

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By MarshallT on 01/18/2022 6:15 AM
That is unfortunate. While the collapse occurred due to a combination of things, you would think that states would want to make changes that hold developers more accountable, not less.

You'd think so, but remember money talks and, well, you know......

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

LoriM15 (Florida)
Posts: 1,009

Posted:

I'm not going to comment on the political choices. However, I can tell you that after having lived all over the US, Florida is the most corrupt state I have ever lived in. The home building lobby is huge here (there's always a building boom) and all you have to do is lobby ($) in Tallahassee and get whatever bill you want passed. It happens all the time with special interests.

For example, I know a group of doctors who had formed a corporation for their large, multi-state practice. Then they sold it to a national company and had non-compete clauses. They decided they wanted to compete. So they lobbied for a bill that specifically addressed their non-compete contracts and got it passed. It only takes money in the right hands.

It also works on the local level, at least in my county. One local commercial developer (who I know personally and is one of the most despicable people I know) wanted to build a 7-11 on the corner right next to an over-55 condo community. It replaced a bank. The 7-11 would bring in traffic and have lights on all night. Condo complex protested and county planning department agreed. Until it suddenly went to the planning commission hearing and the recommendation from the planning department was overturned. The 7-11 got built.

It happens all the time and has always happened here. My community has interior roads that are only 20-feet wide and doesn't meet county code. The developer wanted to fit in more houses.

I could go on - but you get the idea. I know it happens everywhere but you just can't believe it sometimes here.

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