Helio De La Torre, left, and Lindsey Thurswell Lehr,right, of Siegfried, Rivera, Hyman, Lerner, De La Torre, Mars & Sobel. Helio De La Torre, left, and Lindsey Thurswell Lehr,right, of Siegfried, Rivera, Hyman, Lerner, De La Torre, Mars & Sobel.

A Miami-Dade jury has awarded $40 million in damages to BrickellHouse Condominium Association Inc. over developer BrickellHouse Holding LLC's handling of failed robotic parking technology at BrickellHouse Tower.

Residents at 1300 Brickell Bay Dr. had expected their 374-unit building to include a multimillion-dollar elevator that moved cars to parking spots within minutes. But when the automated garage system malfunctioned after opening in 2014, residents had to find somewhere else to park and the association lawyered up.

Jurors had to decide if and how much damages were warranted for breach of implied warranties against BrickellHouse Holding, owned by developer Harvey Hernandez.

It's been a four-year fight for Helio De La Torre and Lindsey Thurswell Lehr of Siegfried, Rivera, Hyman, Lerner, De La Torre, Mars & Sobel in Coral Gables, who represent the association.

"It was just incredible finally getting that victory," De La Torre said. "It was such a high for both of us after working so hard for so many years."

The case was strengthened by its human factor, the way De La Torre saw it, because for many residents, BrickellHouse was their first major investment.

"Everybody can relate to having a house without a parking spot, and the disappointment and frustration of making a purchase of that magnitude and then not getting what you were promised," De La Torre said.

The plaintiff's team brought 12 expert witnesses to the stand, which included a robotics expert, engineers, accountants and appraisers.

Jurors awarded almost everything the plaintiff asked for, agreeing to the suggested amounts for past damages and a replacement garage. But they decided on $9.5 million for future damages, instead of the $40 million sought. The plaintiff had asked for future damages to reflect the difference between the 530 parking spots the developer sold compared with the 405 spots a new garage will house, according to Thurswell Lehr.

An appeal?

The verdict comes two weeks after developer Hernandez agreed to a $275,00 settlement dismissing with prejudice a handful of claims against him over the parking technology. BrickellHouse 4400 LLC also agreed to send its claim of negligent misrepresentation against Hernandez into binding arbitration.

The elevator's manufacturer, Boomerang Systems, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in 2015, and its insurer settled for $32 million.

Defense counsel Ronald S. Lowy of Lowy & Cook in Miami said BrickellHouse Holding followed the law by purchasing insurance for the robotic garage, and plans to appeal over information he says the jury didn't hear.

"The insurance has already paid the condominium $32 million over a year ago, in July 2018," Lowy said. "After being paid this money, the association failed to repair the garage, and instead sued the developer entity for the same replacement garage that the insurance already paid the association for. This award provides the association with over $72 million for what the jury determined was only a $40 million loss. This information was kept from the jury and we are confident that the court of appeals will rectify this error."

The association plans to replace the garage with a conveyor belt system that will fit 405 cars. But the biggest obstacle has been finding a replacement model that works, according to De La Torre, as the association agreed to the garage when it was still an idea.

"We could not replace it with a similar system because there really wasn't one in the entire world that ever worked of this magnitude," De La Torre said.

As the garage is below the 54-story building, there's no space to build conventional ramps for drivers, according to Thurswell Lehr, who said making structural modifications to an occupied building isn't easy.

"Our engineers described it as fitting a square peg in a round hole, because we had a box that we had to plug something in," Thurswell Lehr said, later adding, "BrickellHouse residents are thrilled to be able to put this behind them, and hopefully get what the developer promised them and sold them."

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko presided over the trial.

Read the jury verdict:

 

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