“One of Centex’s selling points when marketing the units at Lexington Lakes to the individuals who are now members of the association was that Lexington Lakes was to be an owner-occupied community, rather than one in which speculators and investors purchased units only to ‘flip’ them,†according to the amended suit filed Friday.
As a condition of sale, buyers had to sign a deed restriction that said they must occupy the condominium as their primary or secondary residence for at least one year.
But Centex sold units to investors who did not occupy the units and flipped them before the first year was up, constituting a breach of fiduciary duty by Centex, the suit alleges.
“As could be expected, these non-occupying owners failed to pay their association dues,†the suit said.
Damages claimed by the association include the unpaid dues and the cost of attempting to collect them, the suit said.
The suit also alleges numerous inadequacies in design and construction, including landscaping, plumbing, irrigation and drainage, potable water system, fire hydrants, downspouts, sidewalks, sunken pavers, entrance gates and roadways. Some of these flaws are in violation of the Florida Building Code or city ordinances, the suit said.
Several months after Centex turned over ownership of the complex in 2006, the association notified Centex of the long list of deficiencies, but Centex did not respond until the association filed suit in April.
Marc Huling, an attorney with the Naples office of Roetzel & Andress, represents Centex in the case. Huling could not be reached for comment.
Centex, a Nevada corporation with offices in Boynton Beach, designed and developed Lexington Lakes, which has 264 units in 35 apartment buildings and townhomes off Indian Street and just west of U.S. 1.
The association president, Jerry Lavish, and its attorneys at the West Palm Beach firm Jones, Forster, Johnston & Stubbs, declined to comment.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/oct/19/developer-broke-restriction-by-selling-to-stuart/
