Miami developer Harvey Hernandez has finally reached a settlement in a long-running case over a failed robotic car garage at the BrickellHouse condo development.
Hernandez settled for $275,000, which dismissed with prejudice all claims against him, according to the Daily Business Review. The settlement pertains to a 2016 lawsuit filed by the condo association over BrickellHouse’s car garage that malfunctioned in 2014, forcing residents to park at other buildings. The car garage was supposed to automatically move cars into parking spots in the building, but it allegedly never worked properly and the company that created the technology eventually filed for bankruptcy.
Dismissing with prejudice means the association cannot file the suit again against Hernandez.
But there is still a case outstanding against Hernandez’s development company BrickellHouse Holding LLC, in which the condo association is seeking about $87 million, the cost of parking for 480 spaces over a 100-year asserted project life, according to the DBR.
Last year, BrickellHouse Condominium Association reached a $32 million settlement with the elevator’s insurer, the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co. The settlement, which appears to be one of the largest of its kind, is nearly half the $61 million policy the association took out to cover the elevator’s technology.
The 46-story BrickellHouse was one of the first post-recession condo buildings constructed in Brickell. The developer sold 98 percent of the tower’s 374 units within three months of opening, property records show.
[Daily Business Review] — Keith Larsen