Jerry W. Jackson
Sentinel Staff Writer
April 13, 2007
Homeowners in a south Orange County town-home community are taking their long-running dispute with the home builder Toll Bros. to court, contending that numerous construction defects have not been corrected.
The homeowners association for Island Walk at Meadow Woods filed suit last week in state Circuit Court in Orlando, seeking unspecified damages. The suit contends the association and homeowners have been damaged financially as a result of "construction defects relating to the building exteriors, streets and drainage, landscaping and the pool at Island Walk."
Association President Robert Turner said the infrastructure and the 188 units in 36 buildings were built by Landstar Homes' Central Florida division, which Toll Bros. bought in 2005. "It's quite frustrating," Turner said of the lingering dispute, because "glaring defects" have continued to mount. The suit describes a long list of alleged problems, including thin, cracking stucco; cracks in garage floors; roof problems; blistering paint; and poor drainage.
Toll Bros. Central Florida division Vice Presidents Kevin Stine, Dollie Temples and Cindy Morse would not comment on the pending litigation. They recently began overseeing the Pennsylvania-based luxury builder's local operations following the retirement of division President Bill Morrisey, a former Landstar executive.
Daniel Coultoff, an Orlando lawyer representing the homeowners association, said previous efforts to get Toll Bros. to address and fully correct deficiencies had failed. A formal "notice and opportunity to repair" was sent to Toll in July 2006, but deficiencies remain unresolved, he said.
"They are just not fixing the problems," Coultoff said.
Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at 407-420-5723 or
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