Suits allege construction defects

Thursday, May 10, 2001 | 10:53 a.m.

Four unrelated lawsuits alleging construction defects have been filed in Clark County District Court in recent days, targeting residential developments in Henderson and Las Vegas and the construction companies that worked on a southwest Las Vegas apartment complex.

The largest residential complex involved in the new litigation is Durango Canyon, a 544-unit apartment complex on Durango Drive in southwest Las Vegas. The lawsuit was filed by the property's owner, Olen Residential Realty Corp.

Olen targeted 37 subcontractors that worked on the project in its lawsuit, claiming the project is defective in design, construction and manufacture, "unfit and unsafe for its intended purpose," and that these defects were intentionally concealed. The company is seeking unspecified damages for damage caused to the property, repairs, lost and diminished rents, costs associated with relocating residents and increased marketing expenses.

The lawsuit does not identify a specific contractor as the project's general contractor.

The second defect lawsuit was filed by the homeowners association of Rainbow Creek at Ventana Canyon, a 142-unit condominium complex in Henderson, against Gibson LLC, the project's developer. Four residents of the six-year-old complex, located near Stephanie Street and American Pacific Drive, are seeking to represent all residents in the class-action lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges numerous defects at the property, including inadequate design, development and construction, and violations of Clark County building codes.

The defendants could not be reached for comment.

A separate lawsuit was filed against Starfire LLC, developer of a new townhome complex in northern Las Vegas, by the Starfire Estates Homeowners Association and three residents of the project.

This lawsuit alleges widespread defects at the 104-unit complex, located on Decatur Boulevard north of Smoke Ranch Road.

The project's developers declined comment until they were served with the lawsuit.

Finally, a fourth lawsuit was filed by the homeowners association of Village Green, a 99-unit Henderson condominium complex, against American Nevada Corp. Four residents of the project, each owning a different model unit, are seeking to represent all residents in a class-action effort.

The lawsuit alleges a variety of defects at the property, with most complaints revolving around alleged improper waterproofing and drainage, allegedly leading to water damage and flooding at the property. Homeowners were told these problems had been fixed, the lawsuit stated, but the repairs were "cosmetic, temporary (and) ineffective."

The lawsuit also alleges misappropriation of insurance funds. The plaintiffs claim that, in an earlier lawsuit involving the property, American Nevada denied owning, building or developing the Village Green project, but that the company later began negotiating with the project's subcontractors to collect insurance benefits related to the defects, and received payment from one subcontractor.

Also named as defendants were Mark Fine, Susan Fine, Henry Hart and Rudolf Schaefer, allegedly members of the project's homeowners association, who were accused of helping to cover up the defects and faulty repairs through their alleged majority control of the homeowners association. Shirland Inc. and Ranell Corp. were also named as defendants for their role in the alleged "negligent maintenance, repair and oversight" of the buildings and common areas.

Mark Fine was president of American Nevada from 1974 to 1990.

American Nevada officials could not be reached for comment. American Nevada is controlled by the Greenspun family, owner of the Las Vegas Sun.