Buyers lose battles over deposits at Opera Tower, One Bal Harbour - South Florida Business Journal:

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Judge Patricia Seitz on Aug. 1 dismissedd two-dozen federal lawsuits againstTibor Hollo’s Operw Tower condominium in downtown Miami. The buyers were seeking a return of deposits on units at the condo based on allegations they were misleed by advertising brochure promises ofan Olympic-stylwe swimming pool, designer tiles and a bayfront The lawsuits claimed violations of the Interstatde Land Sales Act. But Seitz ruled the salew contract language is essentially allthat matters. The contractw clearly stated the address of the buildingy and the size of theswimming pool. Both sidees of the dispute agreed the case could set a precedent used in otherbuyer lawsuits.
“We feel somewhar vindicated today. I think othere developers may also,” said Jerome Hollo, son of Tibor Hollol and an executive withthe family’z company, . Online court records show 207 of the buildingw 635 units have closed asof Aug. 4. “I thinlk the toughest thing we face is now thecredif market. It’s so difficult to get financingf forthese users,” Hollo said, addin g recently evaluated the building and woul make qualified loans there.
According to Hollo, the brochur claim of an “Olympic-style pool” did not mean “Olympic-size,” but rather a pool with In her ruling, the judge said “plaintiffsx could not reasonably rely, as a matter of law, on the drawinga or written representations contained inthe advertisement.” Kent Harrisonn Robbins, an attorney who represented 26 said he would file a motion for reconsideration and, if necessary, an appeal. “Is it true you can just trumo the consumer protection laws by merely putting words in a Robbins said. “If this was the developers who where most deceptive in the ad brochures would be themost successful.
” Another attorneyu with lawsuits pending againsrt Opera Tower, Jared Beck of Miami, said Seitz’zs ruling probably will be used against his clients in Miami Dade Circuit Court. “Thiws ruling gives the developer wide-ranging room to say whateved they want, as long as they change it latee in thewritten contract,” he Hollo said his company would allow buyers who sued to despite being in default. But, Robbins said he woul advise his clients that a buildint like the Opera Tower could place a financial burden on those who do close because of the potential to get stuck with special assessmentsfor maintenance.
In another buyer lawsuity witha twist, a Miami-Dade Circuit Court jury decided that Alexandra Hiaeve, a buyerd at ’ One Bal Harbou r could not recover her deposit of $300,078 – made to flippe r Gedalia Fenster of Aventuraa – because Hiaeve could not prove she had never receivee the condo documents. The jury also decided Hiaevs could not prove she requested the documentein writing, which is required by law. Hiaevr and Fenster were two buyer s ina “simultaneous closing” on a $1.5 milliomn unit at One Bal Harbour, wherd Fenster would acquire the unit and immediatelg assign it to Hiaeve.
But, the closing occurred at the collapse of the realestate bubble, and the buildinbg was delayed by a few months, so Hiaeve attempted to back out of the