20 Los Angeles Homeowners to Sleep Better After Recovering $1.32 Million for Hearing Neighbors Snore
Downtown Los Angeles loft owners recovered $1.32 million for the luxury of reportedly hearing their neighbors at all hours of the day and night.
When homeowners at the Toy Warehouse lofts moved into their new homes in 2001, they reportedly began to hear their neighbors cooking dinner, talking, watching TV, snoring in their sleep and even using the bathroom. When they looked into the problem, they found that the builder reportedly never followed the building plans and omitted soundproofing between the walls and the floors.
The owners were left with no option but to a claim with the builder on Jan. 1, 2003. The case went all the way to trial. Two weeks into trial, just at the Plaintiffs rested, the case was settled for $1.32 million. The developer reportedly offered a mere $125,000 before trial to settle the case. This case was fully resolved in less than 16 months.
According to the owners’ attorney, Thomas Miller of The Miller Law Firm, “It is not uncommon in this kind of dense living for people to hear their neighbors in certain situations. But, this was just another blatant example of how builders cut corners and the consumer pays for these mistakes.”
The Toy Warehouse Lofts were the product of gutting a building built in 1907. They were developed by several entities. The builder was Decoma Industries, who claim to have developed more than 300 projects and complete more than 3,000 structural retrofits in California.
The other entity, Toy Warehouse Lofts Reality Investors LLC, is made up of two managers, Canon Capitol and Decoma Structural LLC.
“As seasonal loft-dwellers, we are used to renting and fitting out warehouses into viable living and working spaces at our own expense. However, the Toy Warehouse Lofts were sold to us as “high-end finished new construction” and we paid the prices for that. We are elated and relieved that at last we will be able to create the dream lofts that we purchased. Our attorneys got us the funds we need to bring our lofts to the standards we were told we were buying,” stated Z Zazhinne, president of the Toy Warehouse Lofts Owners Association.
According to lead trial counsel, Brian Kabateck, of Kabateck & Garris, “In order to keep developers and their insurance companies honest and to continue to pay for consumer claims for shoddy construction, it becomes necessary to try these cases. Trial by jury is the ultimate protection for the home buying public and the fact that this case was resolved in less than 16 months is a boost for California consumers.”
The owners will receive their settlement within sixty days.
Thomas Miller has reportedly recovered more $450 million on behalf of homeowners with construction defects and is the author of the only book on the subject, “Home and Condo Defects: A Consumer Guide to Faulty Construction.” Brian Kabateck has reportedly recovered more than $200 million on behalf of consumers with mold, insurance, class action and construction defect claims.