A Lake Oswego condominium association recently asked the Clackamas County Circuit Court to reopen a civil case against the owners of a luxury complex along State Street.
The Oswego Talisman Condominium Association had initially filed a lawsuit against the owners of the future Frances condominiums, Hugh Development (and its affiliated LLC North D State), over a sewer line that the association alleges was ruptured during construction of the luxury condos next door. The case was eventually dismissed due to a settlement agreement the two parties signed. According to court submissions, Hugh Development agreed to pay $790,000. Most of that money ($630,000) went to the contractor that fixed the rupture, River City Environmental, and the rest was supposed to go to the condo association.
However, in a court filing submitted earlier this month asking for the case to be reopened, Bruce Orr, the lawyer for the condo association, asserted that Hugh Development had yet to pay $35,000 of that money and added that the association now seeks interest as well as the payment of attorney fees. Hugh Development has since argued against the reopening of the case.
“The fees will include those incurred by Plaintiff since North D State breached the terms of the Settlement Agreement, the fees and costs incurred in connection with this motion, and the fees and costs incurred in obtaining and collecting a judgment against North D State for the balance owed on the Settlement Agreement,” the condo association filing reads.
According to the initial lawsuit, in 2022, a contractor for Hugh Development allegedly ruptured a sewer line connecting to the Oswego Talisman condos, leading pipes to be filled with groat and displacing residents for weeks. River City placed liens on condominium association property for not paying them for the work that was completed to fix the damages, precipitating a legal dispute that has since been resolved. At the time, the association considered taking out a loan paid for by homeowners within the complex.
Frances is slated to include 16 luxury condominiums that would be 2,000 square feet and have two bedrooms, bathrooms, a powder room and private terrace. An article in Luxury Home Magazine published this week states that the homes are available and range in price from $1,773,706 to $3,708,988. Construction of the condos was initially slated to be completed in late 2022 but work still seems to be ongoing.
Hugh Development contested the association’s push to reopen the case in a separate filing, saying that state law only allows for a judgment to be vacated under extraordinary circumstances. They also said that finances have played a part in having not paid the full amount yet. The developers also contend that they owe $7,000 less than the $35,000 the condo association reported missing.
“Defendant have been unable to pay the remaining $28,000 due under the terms of the settlement agreement due to financial considerations, but expect and intended to pay the remaining amount due in the near future,” the filing reads. “The minimal amount remaining due, relative to the total amount of the settlement, does not constitute ‘extraordinary circumstances’ that would justify vacating the Court’s prior judgment.”
Hugh Development and its subsidiary were also sued for $200,000 in 2022 over a contract dispute for a property development in Portland.
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