AVENTURA ISLES COMMUNITY LAWSUIT

After acquiring the site, the developers of the Aventura Isles property had full knowledge of the contamination. Our lawsuit alleges that the developers did not follow local regulations and record restrictions in the community's property deeds. Instead, developers covered up the environmental contamination of the soil.

Between 2012 and 2014, Williams Island Ventures sold all of the homes pre-construction, using the standardized Purchase and Sale Agreement. Nowhere in this agreement did the developers disclose the parcel’s history of contamination or the potential drawbacks of these defects, including:

• The development was built on contaminated land;
• The development had contaminated groundwater;
• DERM was supervising the remediation and containment of the contamination, which would create ongoing costs for homeowners;
• DERM demanded further testing;
• DERM required that Williams Island Ventures record a restrictive covenant that would bind purchasers to the terms and obligations described above;
• The remediation process remained open and pending with DERM;
• Plaintiffs would be responsible for future environmental cleanup and other remediation expenses; and
• Plaintiffs would be exposed to legal liability vis-à-vis neighboring landowners.

It was not until 2016 — after they had sold all the homes for over $165 million — that the developers admitted in a submission to DERM that, due to unspecified “errors,” all the homes were sold without the required disclosures.

“By failing to record and disclose,” the complaint states, “Defendants wrongfully deprived Plaintiffs of the chance to make a meaningful choice for themselves and their families in the face of uncertain health and liability risks.”