(We apologize for the lack of detail in the updates posted before the suit was settled, but we were constrained by our attorneys' advice on what we could post.)
As of December 22, 2011
The Board requested contractor bids on the Morrison-Hershfield rehabilitation plan. Sean Gores Construction responded, and presented their proposal at the Annual Meeting. The Board is discussing the proposal and others that may be submitted. The Board intends repairs to be completed during the clear weather part of 2012.
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As of November 15, 2011
The Board approved the Morrison-Hershfield proposal to design the repairs to the condo buildings, and accepted the phase one document ("rehabilitation plan").
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As of August 21, 2011
After the presentation at the August board meeting, the board has asked Morrison-Hershfield consulting engineers to submit a proposal for the services they can provide to design and guide the repair process. The board will discuss the proposal at the next meeting.
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As of August 3, 2011
The Construction Defect Lawsuit is settlement is complete. Come to the August 9 board meeting to speak with Jason Grotz, our attorney, and Mark Rose and/or Caleb Vandermolen of Morrison-Hershfield consulting engineers about what happened and our path forward with repairs.
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As of July 9, 2011
The Construction Defect Lawsuit is settled pending negotiation of final settlement terms between our attorney and the attorneys for defendants. The Board plans to begin discussions about repair methodology as soon as settlement is finalized and all monies are received.
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As of May 17, 2011
final mediation session has been ordered for June 20, with one last effort by our mediator to resolve the case before trial on July 6th. Attorney Jason Grotz will be at the June 22 board meeting to give a status update.
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As of April 1, 2011
Negotiations are continuing on both the federal insurance case and the state construction defect case. Unfortunately, there is no new news that can
be shared publicly yet.
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As of February 16, 2011
The board attended the settlement conference on February 7 at the Eugene Federal Courthouse. Negotiations between all parties are still ongoing. We hope to have more detailed news soon.
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As of January 21, 2011
Attorney Jason Grotz and consulting engineer Caleb Vandermolen spoke to owners at the annual meeting on December 15. The next activity is a settlement conference in Federal Court in Eugene on February, at which there will hopefully be progress toward resolving the insurance company lawsuit. Negotiations continue on the construction defect lawsuit.
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As of December 13, 2010
On December 13, board members Doris Cancel-Tirado, Brian B. Egan, and Mary Fell traveled to Eugene to attend a hearing and settlement conference on motions in Federal Court related to the HOA's insurance coverage action. As soon as we have non-confidential results, they will be posted here.
Attorney Jason Grotz and consulting engineer Caleb Vandermolen will be at the annual meeting on December 15. They will give a lawsuit briefing, and
will answer owner questions in as much detail as is possible during litigation.
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As of December 1, 2010
On November 10, two board members travelled to Portland to attend a case review. A circuit court judge from Lane County (the case's new venue) joined the defendants, the two board members, numerous attorneys, and the mediator in a review of the details of the case. The next scheduled activity was to be on November 30: hearing on some motions in Federal Court on the insurance coverage action. However, this has been cancelled in favor of a large-scale meeting on December 13 related to the Federal Court case for the lawsuit; most board members will be attending this meeting in Eugene. As soon as non-confidential results occur, we will update this web site.
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As of September 18, 2010
The Benton County Court has transferred the lawsuit to the Lane County Courts because of workload and because the Lane County Courts are more
experienced with this sort of case. This transfer has resulted in a delay of the trial date to early in 2011. We'll post further news as it is
available.
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As of August 20, 2010
Owners have been receiving document subpoenas related to the lawsuit; our attorneys have provided the following update and instructions:
"The construction defect case is ongoing. Your Board of Directors is aware that many homeowners recently received subpoenas from one of the main Defendants in the case: Willamette Builders Group at Grand Oaks, LLC. This is a normal and necessary part of the litigation. The party seeking these documents was one of the companies that participated in the construction and sales of units at the condominium.
A subpoena is a court document that is served on a non-party to a lawsuit requesting documents that may be relevant to the case. It is important that you respond to the subpoena if you have any of the documents that are being requested or if you have reasonable access to them. If you don't respond to the subpoena, the defendant has the right to ask the Court to require you to respond to the subpoena. You also run the risk having a penalty/fine imposed on you by the Court. The best thing to do is respond if you have the documents.
If you don't have any of the documents requested, you can simply send a short note to WBGGO/Scheer and Zender firm indicating you don't have any of the documents. If you do have any of the documents, you can provide WBGGO/Scheer and Zender with copies. You should keep your own originals. Finally, the Association's attorneys have confirmed that they will also be receiving copies of whatever documents you provide in response to the subpoena. WBGGO/Scheer and Zender will provide the Association's attorney with copies of whatever you submit.
We realize that this is an inconvenience for many of you and we thank you for your continued patience and support of this process. These issues are critical for our Association."
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As of August 8, 2010
Depositions were taken from board members during July by a panel of attorneys for the defense.
Three board members travelled to Tigard to attend an important pre-trial mediation session on July 29th.
The attorneys are still hard at work. Mediation can continue up to the trial date. News will be posted as it is received from our attorneys.
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As of July 21 2010
Attorney Jason Grotz and engineer Caleb Vandermolen will be at the July board meeting to speak to owners and give an update.
Depositions are being taken from board members during July.
An important pre-trial mediation session involving all parties is being held on July 29th.
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As of May 19 2010
News is sparse, unfortunately. Mediation continues. A trial date has not yet been set, but will be in the September-October timeframe. Several
subcontractors have been added to the lawsuit as respondents. More details will be posted as things occur.
Due to crowding, the Benton County Courts has delayed the trial date to several months later than the original date of May 4.
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As of March 4 2010
Attorney Jason Grotz and Caleb Vandermolen of Morrison-Hershfield consulting engineers attended the February 18 meeting,
updating us on the mediation session held on February 12. A large number of defendants' attorneys were present, as were
several of their clients. Negotiations continue. Brian (board president) also attended to observe, and was very impressed
with all the work that was being done on the Association's behalf.
Due to crowding, the Benton County Courts has delayed the trial date to several months later than the original date of May 4.
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As of January 11, 2010
At this time, Depositions of Board members will not be taken as planned. The next mediation session is scheduled for February 12.
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As of December 22, 2009
The initial mediation session was held as planned on November 20. All parties met and began discussions, but no
resolutions were reached yet. Another mediation is scheduled for early in 2010. Trial is still scheduled for
May 4, should mediation not result in a solution.
The Association's Attorney Jason Grotz and consulting engineer Caleb Vandermolen attended the November board meeting
(intended also to be the Annual Meeting), where they spoke to the owners about the lawsuit and potential repairs to
the buildings. You can
read the questions and answers
from their presentation in the November minutes.
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As of October 16, 2009
An "expert's meeting" will occur very soon, followed by the first formal mediation session on November 20.
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As of August 28, 2009
Inspectors hired by the Plaintiffs (Willamette Builders Group, various subcontractors, etc.) will be working on the complex during the week
of August 31. They will be opening up various areas of exterior walls and windows, and may request access to inspect some interior walls.
They are required to return the structures to exactly the condition in which they found them (i.e., closed back up, waterproofed, and repainted).
Representatives or Morrison-Hershfield, the HOA's engineering experts, will be supervising and recording the inspection process, and will
ensure that the post-inspection restoration is done properly.
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As of June 10, 2009
Our attorneys have authorized the Board to post two lawsuit-related documents here on the web site. You now can
read the actual lawsuit complaint and you can
view the scheduled dates for various events leading up to the trial.
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As of May 15, 2009
Jason Grotz provided an update on the lawsuit. "The litigation is ongoing. We have a trial date of May 4, 2010 - which I realize
sounds like it is a ways out but is not uncommon for a case of this type (and with this many parties). We also have some mediation
dates scheduled with defense counsel before then. The first one is in October."
A scheduling order arrived shortly after Jason's message. Highlights: All motions must be filed by July 15, 2009. Any or all
"destructive testing" (e.g., a siding plank being removed to see what's under it, etc.) must be completed by September 1,
2009. Mediation sessions will be November 20, 2009 and February 12, 2010. For simplicity, hopefully all issues will be resoved
in mediation, rather than going to trial.
Jason also responded to an owner, who queried whether a window seal failure was covered by the lawsuit. "Any warranty on the windows
is likely void because there was a failure to install them as per building code and manufacturer's installation specifications. Windows
are the maintenance responsibility of the Association, not the individual owners. That said, if the breakage is due to the act or omission
of the owner (rather than just a need for replacement over time) - the owner's insurance policy will be primary. So, the practical advice
is to direct the owner to tender it to their HO6 Condominium Owner's policy. If that policy does not cover it, then you would want to look
at the Association's insurance."
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As of February 1, 2009
According to Jason Grotz, WOC's attorney, we are very close to having the Court able to appoint a mediator, who
is likely to be an attorney-mediator very experienced in construction defect cases. All parties except one have
agreed, and the agreement of the final party (one of the subcontractors brought into the suit by the Defendant,
Willamette Builders Group) is expected momentarily. Once the mediator is appointed, Jason expects the activity
to pick up significantly: the mediator will set official deadlines for document submission, etc. and the process
will be underway. Jason is also working hard on discovery of documentation, witnesses, other parties, etc. He
also reports that all subcontractors are now being represented by insurance company attorneys.
As of November 30, 2008
Jason Grotz and Mike Vial, WOC's attorneys, attended the November meeting to present an update. Things are still proceeding at the
expected pace. Main new points:
- WBG has countersued seven of its subcontractors; these are now obtaining legal counsel.
- The parties are selecting a mediator, who will assist the process and who may help the parties acheive an out-of-court settlement.
- Inspectors hired by the defendents may be on the property, supervised, during the next few months.
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As of October 22, 2008
WOC's attorneys report that the lawsuit is proceeding at the expected rate, and is making progress. Main news points:
- The insurance companies for Willamette Builders Group, Brent Keys and Kevin Dix have hired a lawyer to defend them in this lawsuit.
There is no news on defendent Bill Stansell.
- The claim has also been tendered to the WOC HOA's Directors and Officers insurance company, because the individual defendents were
directors and officers of the pre-turnover Board.
- Willamette Builders Group in turn sued seven subcontractors that worked on various phases of West Oaks. These parties are now,
in turn, tendering to their insurers and obtaining lawyers.
- The Association's attorneys are in the "discovery" phase with the defendents; document requests have been served and large
quantities of documents have been delivered in response.
- It appears that all parties have agreed to engage a mediator. That process has begun.
- Depositions will be taken once all the subcontractors have engaged legal counsel.
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As of September 22, 2008
While the lawsuit itself is still in the information-exchange phase, several things have happened over the last month or two:
- The plaintiffs have sought immunity from the lawsuit, based on clauses that they themselves wrote into the Association Bylaws
before turnover.
- Plaintiff Bill Stansell has asked to be removed from the lawsuit.
The Association's attorney is reviewing the latter two items, and will respond to the plaintiffs appropriately. In the interim, we ask all owners to be
patient with the process; feel free to come to the monthly board meetings to hear the latest. However, please be aware that the Board is unable to answer
many questions without first taking advice from the Association's attorneys.
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As of May 22, 2008
The Board of Directors has recently become aware of certain construction defects in the buildings at the West Oaks Condominium. These defects
relate to the "building envelope" or exterior portions of the condominium which are the maintenance responsibility of the Association. Some of
the defects have resulted in water intrusion and damage to the interior portions of some units.
The Board hired an expert, Morrisson Hershfield Engineers, to do a report on nature and extent of the damage to the buildings. You may have seen
MH employees examining the condominium property recently. They were looking at roofs, siding, windows and other building components. To assist MH,
the Assocation recently circulated a "Construction Defect Survey" to gather information about which units/buildings had problems. Finally, the Board
has sought the assistance of a law firm, Vial Fotheringham LLP, to pursue the construction defect issues with Willamette Builders Group, the
developers/builders of West Oaks.
The Association provided Willamette Builders Group with a "Notice of Defects" as required under Oregon Law. Since the Developer did not respond,
the Association recently filed a lawsuit in Benton County against Willamette Builders group and pre-turnover directors. This lawsuit is at an early
stage.
Your Board of Directors will strive to keep you informed as developments occur. For the latest information, please visit this web site frequently,
read the board meeting minutes, and/or attend the next board meeting.
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