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Filing # 108958095 E-Filed 06/16/2020 05:46:58 PM
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 11TH
JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIRCUIT CIVIL DIVISION
CASE NO: 2017-014568-CA-01
951 HARBOR DRIVE, LLC, a Florida limited
liability company,
Plaintiff,
v.
SD CONSTRUCTION, LLC, a Florida limited
liability company; MERICK ROOFING, INC.,
a Florida corporation; and N. OSCAR
GONZALEZ, PE., an individual,
Defendants.
______________________________________/
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO BE EXCUSED FROM MEDIATION
Plaintiff, 951 HARBOR DRIVE, LLC (“Plaintiff”), by and through the undersigned
counsel, hereby moves the Court for permission to be excused from mediation in this matter and
in support thereof states as follows:
1. This action was brought by Plaintiff, the owner of a luxury home located on Key
Biscayne, Florida, as a result of the shoddy construction work done on the residence by defendant SD
CONSTRUCTION, LLC, the general contractor of the project (“General Contractor”), when it was
constructed, including water intrusion into the home.
2. The water intrusion occurred largely because after the poured concrete roof deck
system was in place and waterproofed in, the General Contractor allowed the roof deck railing to be
installed, which required boring 3-4 inch holes into the concrete roof system to support each of the
railing posts. Then, to compound this problem, the General Contractor neglected to have the holes
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refilled and water-proofed in leaving a series of miniature depressions allowing water to collect any
time it rained. The below photographs illustrate the deficient construction:
3. The water intrusion caused substantial damage to other parts of the home, including
the drywall, woodwork, appliances, flooring, etc. Ultimately Plaintiff made a claim on its
homeowners’ insurance to cover the damages done to the other parts of the home.
4. Plaintiff’s homeowner’s insurance, Privileged Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange
(“PURE”) settled the claim with Plaintiff, paying several hundred thousand dollars to Plaintiff to
repair the damage caused by the negligently built roof; however, the insurance did not cover the costs
to repair the negligently built roof, as there was an applicable exclusion.
5. PURE then filed suit against the General Contractor under a subrogation theory here
in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit—the case was assigned to the Hon. Jose Rodriguez, under case no.
2017-006935-CA-01 (the “PURE Case”).
6. Thereafter, the instant case was filed by the Plaintiff seeking damages for the negligent
construction of the roof—the costs associated with replacing the roof so that it no longer was a source
of water intrusion.
7. While both cases were pending, the parties agreed to conduct a global mediation to
attempt and achieve a global resolution of all issues existing between them. On September 25, 2018,
the parties conducted the global mediation, which lasted for nearly 8 hours, after which, the Hon.
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Richard D. Eade, entered an impasse. A true and correct copy of the Report of Mediator is attached
hereto as Exhibit “A.”1
8. In the instant case, on May 29, 2020, the Court sua sponte ordered the parties to
another mediation to be held within 75 days of the date of the Order. And while Plaintiff understands
the prior global mediation was more than one year ago, falling outside of the parameters of paragraph
7 of the Court’s May 29 Order, Plaintiff does not believe any further attempts at mediation would be
beneficial.
9. Because the parties have already spent 8 hours at mediation in attempt to resolve this
matter, and such actions were not fruitful, Plaintiff is requesting that it be excused from further
mediation at this time. This will allow whatever resources would otherwise be expended at a second
mediation, to be used towards resolution of this matter.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests the Court enter an order excusing the parties
from further mediation in this matter, and for such other relief as the Court deems just and proper.
DATED: June 16, 2020. Respectfully submitted,
By: /s/ Eric M. Sodhi
Eric M. Sodhi
Florida Bar No. 583871
eric@sodhispoont.com
Secondary: michelle@sodhispoont.com
Joshua L. Spoont
Florida Bar No. 53263
josh@sodhispoont.com
SODHI SPOONT PLLC
3050 Biscayne Blvd., Ste. 904
Miami, FL 33137
Tel: 305-907-7573
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Since the global mediation, the PURE Case has been settled and dismissed, leaving only this
matter remaining.
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EXHIBIT “A”
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Preview
Filing # 108958095 E-Filed 06/16/2020 05:46:58 PM IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 11TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA CIRCUIT CIVIL DIVISION CASE NO: 2017-014568-CA-01 951 HARBOR DRIVE, LLC, a Florida limited liability company, Plaintiff, v. SD CONSTRUCTION, LLC, a Florida limited liability company; MERICK ROOFING, INC., a Florida corporation; and N. OSCAR GONZALEZ, PE., an individual, Defendants. ______________________________________/ PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO BE EXCUSED FROM MEDIATION Plaintiff, 951 HARBOR DRIVE, LLC (“Plaintiff”), by and through the undersigned counsel, hereby moves the Court for permission to be excused from mediation in this matter and in support thereof states as follows: 1. This action was brought by Plaintiff, the owner of a luxury home located on Key Biscayne, Florida, as a result of the shoddy construction work done on the residence by defendant SD CONSTRUCTION, LLC, the general contractor of the project (“General Contractor”), when it was constructed, including water intrusion into the home. 2. The water intrusion occurred largely because after the poured concrete roof deck system was in place and waterproofed in, the General Contractor allowed the roof deck railing to be installed, which required boring 3-4 inch holes into the concrete roof system to support each of the railing posts. Then, to compound this problem, the General Contractor neglected to have the holes 1 refilled and water-proofed in leaving a series of miniature depressions allowing water to collect any time it rained. The below photographs illustrate the deficient construction: 3. The water intrusion caused substantial damage to other parts of the home, including the drywall, woodwork, appliances, flooring, etc. Ultimately Plaintiff made a claim on its homeowners’ insurance to cover the damages done to the other parts of the home. 4. Plaintiff’s homeowner’s insurance, Privileged Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (“PURE”) settled the claim with Plaintiff, paying several hundred thousand dollars to Plaintiff to repair the damage caused by the negligently built roof; however, the insurance did not cover the costs to repair the negligently built roof, as there was an applicable exclusion. 5. PURE then filed suit against the General Contractor under a subrogation theory here in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit—the case was assigned to the Hon. Jose Rodriguez, under case no. 2017-006935-CA-01 (the “PURE Case”). 6. Thereafter, the instant case was filed by the Plaintiff seeking damages for the negligent construction of the roof—the costs associated with replacing the roof so that it no longer was a source of water intrusion. 7. While both cases were pending, the parties agreed to conduct a global mediation to attempt and achieve a global resolution of all issues existing between them. On September 25, 2018, the parties conducted the global mediation, which lasted for nearly 8 hours, after which, the Hon. 2 Richard D. Eade, entered an impasse. A true and correct copy of the Report of Mediator is attached hereto as Exhibit “A.”1 8. In the instant case, on May 29, 2020, the Court sua sponte ordered the parties to another mediation to be held within 75 days of the date of the Order. And while Plaintiff understands the prior global mediation was more than one year ago, falling outside of the parameters of paragraph 7 of the Court’s May 29 Order, Plaintiff does not believe any further attempts at mediation would be beneficial. 9. Because the parties have already spent 8 hours at mediation in attempt to resolve this matter, and such actions were not fruitful, Plaintiff is requesting that it be excused from further mediation at this time. This will allow whatever resources would otherwise be expended at a second mediation, to be used towards resolution of this matter. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests the Court enter an order excusing the parties from further mediation in this matter, and for such other relief as the Court deems just and proper. DATED: June 16, 2020. Respectfully submitted, By: /s/ Eric M. Sodhi Eric M. Sodhi Florida Bar No. 583871 eric@sodhispoont.com Secondary: michelle@sodhispoont.com Joshua L. Spoont Florida Bar No. 53263 josh@sodhispoont.com SODHI SPOONT PLLC 3050 Biscayne Blvd., Ste. 904 Miami, FL 33137 Tel: 305-907-7573 1 Since the global mediation, the PURE Case has been settled and dismissed, leaving only this matter remaining. 3 EXHIBIT “A” 4