The developer of a 72-acre luxury motorsports club won $1.2 million in damages and other awards in its shoddy construction lawsuit claiming a slew of defects –– primarily leaking roofs described in court as a “Frankenstein or crazy-quilt” of patches on the roofing membrane.
Trilogy Real Estate Group, based in Chicago and Miami, and led by amateur racecar enthusiast Neil Gehani, opened The Concours Club about two years ago with a 2-mile circuit and high-end amenities at the Miami Opa Locka Executive Airport in northwest Miami-Dade County. When the club was still being planned in 2021, Bloomberg reported membership would cost a $150,000 initiation fee and another $35,000 annually.
Concours Club is at 14200 Northwest 42nd Avenue in Opa-locka.
The three-year long litigation was over the leaking roofs at six auto lofts, or two-story mezzanines above garages from where racecar buffs can view the circuit. The issue delayed the planned 2023 opening and required Trilogy’s affiliate to replace all roofs and remedy other issues, according to court filings.
TF North Run, a Trilogy affiliate managed by Gehani, first sued in 2023, alleging the roof leaks and other defects. The Miami-Dade Circuit Court complaint was against Doral-based Link Construction Group, the auto lofts’ general contractor that Trilogy eventually terminated, as well as subcontractors Advanced Roofing, Premier Air Conditioning & Refrigeration and Bryant Electric.
Judge Thomas Rebull issued an order on Thursday deeming Doral-based Link Construction Group, the auto lofts’ general contractor, in breach of its agreement with Trilogy’s affiliate. Link was hired in 2021 under a $21.4 million guaranteed maximum price contract, according to court filings.
Link and Advanced failed to fix the roofs despite having the opportunity to do so for months, the order says. Rebull determined Link and Advanced each carry half of the responsibility, though he pointed out that Link, as the general contractor, is ultimately responsible to Trilogy, including for work done by subcontractors.
Link owes TF North Run, the entity through which Trilogy developed the project, $780,000 in liquidated damages for lost rent due to failure to complete the auto lofts by the June 2023 deadline, as well as over $170,300 in prejudgment interest, according to the order. In total, Trilogy lost $951,675 due to rent abatements to tenants, but Rebull determined Advanced Roofing owes Trilogy half of that, or $475,838 in damages, writing the subcontractor wasn’t entirely at fault for the roof issues. Advanced also owes over $95,200 in prejudgment interest, according to the order.
Rebull went further, determining that Trilogy’s entity was in its full right to retain nearly $2.5 million from the balance of Link Construction’s contract, as it had to cover the re-roof of all auto lofts and expenses for other repairs due to defective construction.
The 61-page order, which came after a bench trial, is packed with vivid language describing the defects. Rebull described the roofs as “riddled with leaks” and the issue as “systematic and continuous,” as well as “extensive, pervasive, and continuous.”
Rebull also referenced evidence and testimony provided by both sides of the case, often pointing out that Link’s own staff and experts conceded to the extent of the issue and urgency to fix it.
“We currently have water leaks on top of antique Porsche cars. This is the type of items we need to have resolved ASAP,” a Link project executive wrote in a September 2023 email to Advanced.
That email came after other Link representatives’ emails, in which they called the issue a “saga” and a “grave matter,” according to Rebull’s order.
During the trial, Trilogy showed photos taken just months after the roofs were installed depicting “scores of patches” on the roofing membranes.
Link Construction and Advanced Roofing’s attorneys didn’t respond to requests for comment, including on whether they plan to appeal. Link has separately sued several project subcontractors.
TF North’s attorney reiterated that Link had months to fix the leaks but failed to.
“There were over 100 leaks during this one-year period,” Scott Kravetz, the Duane Morris attorney who represented TF North, said in a statement. “Because of the nature of the project, members kept rare and expensive racecars at the auto lofts for use on the race track.”
Next, TF North’s attorneys will seek attorney fees, which total more than $2 million, according to Duane Morris
Rebull shot down Link’s counterclaim against TF North, alleging the developer hindered Link’s work and wrongfully terminated Link even though it was trying to correct issues. Link argued it had substantially completed the project by the June 2023 deadline, obtaining temporary certificates of occupancy on time.
“Under no circumstances could [TF North] provide its end users with a high-end experience for storing and using luxury sports cars where water was leaking into the units,” Rebull wrote.
The order wasn’t entirely a win for Trilogy. Its affiliate also sued Premier, the mechanical subcontractor, for negligence. But Rebull pointed out that Premier worked to rectify any issues related to its scope of work and, in fact, it’s still owed $228,760 from Trilogy’s affiliate.
Rebull shot down Link’s cross-claims against Doral-based Bryant Electric and also determined the electrical subcontractor is entitled to collect on its $751,938 lien. Finally, the judge wrote that Link is to indemnify TF North for both Premier’s $228,760 unpaid dues and Bryant’s $751,938 lien, and also is to pay any additional unpaid subcontractors.
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