Burlingame lawsuit likely headed to trial

Mediation on siding lawsuit fails to bear fruit, attorney says

Burlingame homeowners are preparing to take a construction defect lawsuit to trial, after the parties failed to come to terms through a mediation process.

Thats according to Front Range attorney Chris Rhody, who is representing the Burlingame Ranch Phase I Condominium Association, which filed the lawsuit in Pitkin County District Court in April 2012.

The suit alleges that siding and trim on the exterior of the multi-family buildings was improperly manufactured and installed when the 84-unit affordable housing project was built seven years ago. Homeowners fear that faulty materials and installation of the siding could result in long-term problems to their condos.

The suit names as defendants Shaw Construction, the general contractor; Certainteed Corp., the siding manufacturer; the city of Aspen, which backed the project financially and oversaw its completion; and the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority, which manages the sale of the units.

After a mediation session held in Denver in May, it was agreed that the homeowners should come up with an estimate for what the repairs would cost, Rhody said. They spent the following months getting input from forensic engineers on the extent of the problem, and then took that information to contractors, who provided bids on the repair work, he said. The homeowners selected a bid and presented Shaw with a settlement demand in early November, including legal costs and fees for experts who worked on the project. The company responded with a counteroffer the homeowners deemed too low, Rhody said.

I can tell you it was a big difference, Rhody said, of the disparity between the HOAs settlement demand and Shaws counteroffer. He would not discuss the specific numbers being debated.

Shaw had made a similar offer right around the time the lawsuit was filed, Rhody said.

An attorney representing Shaw, as well as a project manager for the company, declined comment.

Rhody said the homeowners are now going through the legal process to move toward a trial. The first priority is to have a trial date set, and then begin the discovery phase. He wouldnt speculate when a trial date might be set.

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Burlingame lawsuit likely headed to trial