Senior housing facility on Tulane Avenue sues contractors over water intrusion claims

NEW ORLEANS – A Tulane Avenue senior housing facility is suing contractors for sub-par work alleged to have caused water intrusion and numerous complaints from residents.

St. Michael Senior Housing 2006, LP filed suit against DBR Associates LLC, The Hill Firm Inc., New Orleans Glass Company Inc., KMT Painting and Decoration LLC and Help Service Company Inc. in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court on Aug. 15.

The suit accuses the defendants of breach of contract, negligence, breach of warranty and contractual indemnity in connection with the design and remodeling of a building that was renovated to senior living space.

DBR and The Hill Firm hired subcontractors to complete work on the building, but within months of completion, the plaintiff claims that it began experiencing the effects of water intrusion owing to the poor design, construction, workmanship, and installation of the building and its components. St. Michael attributes these leaks to various defective elements: the stucco system, window system, air conditioners, sill/jaw/head flashing at the windows, vapor/moisture barriers, cracking masonry especially in the former elevator shaft, an inferior metal wall at the exterior and a poorly constructed cement floor in the common room.

The plaintiff claims that while The Hill Firm and its subcontractors discovered some of the causes of water intrusion, it has not performed any work to correct the damages. St. Michael states that it has assumed all costs related to all repairs completed on damaged units and costs of relocating residents complaining of symptoms possibly related to water, mold and/or mildew exposure.

The defendants are accused of breach of contract for preparing defective architectural and engineering plans for the project, failing to provide proper supervision to protect against leaks, and are asked to accept liability for any damages relating to the water, mold, mildew, lowered value of the property, and expenses of remedial work in addition to negligence, breach of warranty, and contractual indemnity.

The plaintiff is represented by Brian D. Katz of New Orleans-based Herman, Herman and Katz LLC.

The case has been assigned to Division J Judge Paula A. Brown.

Case no. 2013-07706.