We were hired by a retired Marine veteran and his wife who moved to Charleston after the wife suffered a serious medical emergency. They were assured a condominium complex with nine units on Daniel Island was the ideal location for them. Unbeknownst to our clients, their building had historically suffered from severe and continuous water infiltration issues in multiple locations. A prior repair had occurred and failed. Prior to our clients’ unit being listed for sale, the regime’s board had extensive knowledge of multiple areas of severe water infiltration and allowed the conditions to continue. The board had been communicating with contractors to develop a repair plan, which was communicated to the regime’s unit owners and the seller of our clients’ unit; however, none of this information was disclosed to our clients. No disclosures regarding these problems were made by the homeowners’ association, the regime’s board, or the seller.
Ultimately, our clients were forced to pay $860,000 in special assessments to fund the necessary repairs to their building. After a thorough investigation into these issues, we filed a lawsuit against the seller of our clients’ unit, the property owners’ association, our clients’ real estate agent, and the real estate agency for which she worked. Throughout the litigation process, we reviewed hundreds of emails and documents proving the sellers and the board were not only aware of the severe water infiltration, but that they also failed to disclose the issues to potential buyers. After nearly two years, we were able to reach settlements with all the parties involved so our clients could finally move on from their nightmare and begin enjoying their lives in the Lowcountry.
