Fisher v. Shipyard Vill. Council of Co-Owners, Inc.
| Decision Date | 25 June 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 5241.,5241. |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | Richard A. FISHER, Platte B. Moring, Jr., Trustee of the Platte B. Moring, Jr. Living Trust dated March 13, 2001; Marianne Kochanski, and Jim H. Markley, III, Individually, and in a Representative Capacity on Behalf of All Persons Similarly Situated Who Own Units in Buildings C and D of the Shipyard Village Horizontal Property Regime; Robert A. Wright, Mary Beth C. Wright, H. Allen Wright, Joyce Y. Wright and Carolyn L. Wright; Carmen J. Savoca, Ann D. Savoca, William John Savoca and Donna S. Strom; James T. Hunter and Mary D. Hunter; Dwain C. Andrews; WWS, LLC, a South Carolina Limited Liability Company; Donald L. Henson and Sandra L. Henson; Allen M. Funk; Norman J. Rish and Mary T. Rish; Angela M. Markley; Walter C. Worsham and Carolyn W. Worsham; Enrico S. Piraino and Giusto Piraino; Otis T. Harrison and Rose C. Harrison; James E. Newman, Jr.; Brenda E. Fisher and Joseph R. Canning and Kathleen B. Canning; James D. Reynolds, Jr.; Fuller Family, LLC; Richard T. White and Rory L. White; Propst and Dawson, LLC; Litchfield Quarters, LLC, and Larry O. Snider and Paula D. Snider; William C. Hammond, Jr., Living Trust and the Shawn S. Hammond Living Trust; GAB IV, LLC, a Virginia Limited Liability Company; Robert C. McBride and Susan R. McBride, Trustees of the Robert C. McBride Family Trust u/d/t July 24, 2008, and Susan R. McBride and Robert C. McBride, Trustees of the Susan R. McBride Family Trust u/d/t July 24, 2008; Evelyn J. Valuska; Barbara W. Beymer; Montrose Associates, LLC; Harry L. Belk and Jan C. Belk; Dennis E. Barrett and Wilma J. Barrett; First Family Properties, Inc., Cynthia L. Jones, Sandra D. Huggins and Margaret S. Dover, Thomas Franklin Huggins, Frank S. Krouse and Barbara T. Krouse, Judith W. Mill, William Mill and Susan Mill, Gene R. Riley and Patricia C. Riley, Harold LeMaster and Patti LeMaster; Joseph P. Heaton and Frances H. Heaton; Robert N. Kelly; H.S. Keeter and Sandra C. Keeter; Brian R. Nisbet Trust Agreement dated November 16, 1998 and Mary M. Nisbet Trustee of the Mary M. Nisbet Trust Agreement dated November 16, 1998, Dorothy Jean Foster; Captains Quarters D–24 Association of Owners, Inc., Michael H. Sanders and Rebecca H. Sanders, Ruth Gray Wheliss, David B. Shivell and Nicki M. Shivell, Debra B. Leeke, Joseph Alan Capobianco and Lara Serro, Sharon Gibson Daniel, Gary C. Andes and Andrea W. Andes, Jay Hendler and Laura Hendler, Joy P. McConnell, Charles W. Fortner, Judith C. Woodson, Warren W. Riggs and Charles G. Martin, Riggs Ventures, LLC, and SGS Beach Partners, LLC; Morgan J. Mann and Angela M. Mann; Michael Cameron Foster, Sr. and Laura Lee Foster; Captains Quarters Unit D–31 Association of Multiple Ownerships, Inc., Evelyn Gail Earnest, Francis G. Thomson and Arleen S. Thomson, Robert W. Dalton, Red Oak Limited Partnership, William R. McKeown and Margaret A. McKeown, Norman K. Moon and Barbara W. Moon, David T. McGill and Carol G. McGill, Rick L. Bledsoe and Susan H. Bledsoe, Geoffrey A. Wienke and Pamela L. Wienke, A. Donald Ross, III and Nancy Kay Ross, Dennis J. Straw and Roxanne B. Straw, and Resort Investments of Litchfield, LLC; Georgia M. Pruitt and Howard M. Pruitt, Jr.; Jean T. Blaylock; William C. Covington, Jr. and Donna C. Covington; Litchfield Captain's Quarters, LLC; James A. Schubert and Laraine C. Schubert; Daniel P. Duvall and Mary Lynn Duvall; Victor A. Medina and Melinda Leigh Medina; Judy P. Hamer; Boyce F. Miler and Carole L. Miller, Raymond A. Shingler and Louise O. Shingler, Paul Larry Barnette and Carol Jane Barnette, James R. Walker and Erika T. Walker, Kathy W. Underwood, Andrew J. Wingo, Jr. and Susan A. Wingo, Melanie S. Franklin, Lois E. Cooley, Truseee of the Lois E. Cooley Living Trust, B. Lee Smith and Margaret H. Smith, Jason A. Underwood, Camilla J. Wilson; Stewart South, LLC; Quarter South, LLC; Steven H. Frame and Kay B. Frame, Respondents. v. SHIPYARD VILLAGE COUNCIL OF CO–OWNERS, INC., Appellant. Shipyard Village Council of Co–Owners, Inc., Third–Party Plaintiff, v. Cincinnati Insurance Company, Travelers Insurance Company, Companion Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Philadelphia Insurance Company, Zurich American Insurance Company, American Guarantee and Liability Ins. Co., St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and Illinois National Insurance Company, Third–Party Defendants. Appellate Case No. 2012–213634. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Carlyle Richardson Cromer and R. Wayne Byrd, both of Turner Padget Graham & Laney, PA, of Myrtle Beach, for Appellant.
Howell V. Bellamy, Jr., and Howell Vaught Bellamy, III, both of Bellamy, Rutenberg, Copeland, Epps, Gravely & Bowers, P.A. of Myrtle Beach, for Respondents.
The Shipyard Village Council of Co–Owners, Inc. (the Council) appeals the circuit court's grant of partial summary judgment to owners of condominiums within the development in the case involving faulty windows and sliding doors. The Council argues it did not have a duty to investigate, the business judgment rule should have applied, and a jury could have found it did not breach any duty. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
The condominium development Shipyard Village Horizontal Property Regime (Shipyard Village) in Pawleys Island was established in 1982 pursuant to the recording of the Master Deed. The Council was incorporated to administer the affairs in accordance with the Bylaws through a Board of Directors (the Board). Shipyard Village was built in two phases. Phase I was approved for final occupancy in 1982 and contained two buildings, A and B. Phase II was submitted to condominium ownership in 1998 and was comprised of Buildings C and D.
Section 3.6(c) of the Master Deed provides that a unit's balcony doors including its frame and “window glasses, screens, frames, and casings” are part of each unit. Section 6.1 of the Bylaws provides the manager or the Board is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of the common elements. Section 6.2 of the Bylaws specifies that unit owners (Co-owners) are responsible for the maintenance and repair of their units. Section 5.6 of the Master Deed states maintenance, repair, and replacement of the common elements are the Board's responsibilities “except in the case of the negligence of a Co-owner ..., and in the event of such negligence, such expenses of a portion thereof may be assessed as an individual assessment.” Additionally, section 12.1 of the Master Deed indicates that if regime property is damaged due to “neglect, willful act[,] or abuse” of a Co-owner and insurance proceeds are insufficient to cover the cost of the damage, the deficiency amount “shall be charged to such Co-owner as an individual assessment.” The Bylaws state in section 6.4 that all maintenance, repair, and replacement expenses are common expenses except when those expenses are not fully reimbursed by insurance proceeds and are necessitated by the failure of a Co-owner to perform the maintenance required by the Bylaws or by the willful act, neglect, or abuse by a Co-owner, in which case they will be charged to the Co-owner as an individual assessment. The Master Deed does not list window flashing as one of Co-owners' responsibilities but window frames and casings are included as Co-owners' responsibilities.
Over the years, Buildings A and B experienced leaks at the windows and balcony doors. In 1993, Procon Waterproofing, Inc., which had waterproofed the buildings in 1990, informed a management company that following its preliminary inspection of the concrete structural slabs of Buildings A and B, it recommended “a structural engineer further evaluate the cracking and spalling [that] is occurring in the pre-cast slabs and beams.” In 1994, Procon found that all the work it completed in 1990 was performing as intended with no problems. It noted that for the ocean-front windows, “the metal end stop bead associated with the stucco system which was installed during the original construction over each floor band are beginning to deteriorate and rust.” The Council had Procon replace the corroded metal casing beads.
At the June 15, 1999 Board meeting, the Board decided to “notify all the [Co-]owners and inform them that they are responsible for their threshold and window frame on their unit.” The property manager sent a letter dated August 11, 1999, to all Co-owners in Buildings A and B stating “the waterproofing of the balcony thresholds and windows are the responsibility of the unit owners.” The letter provided Co-owners could waterproof their balcony thresholds and windows for $737.50. In 1999, Henderson Waterproofing performed some stucco and concrete repairs to Buildings A and B. Bobby Warner, the Council's maintenance supervisor at that time, observed the work and did not believe the damage to the building was as severe as Henderson did and did not think an engineer was needed to assess the buildings.
In 2002, the Council hired McGee Consulting Associates to study the windows for Buildings A and B. It determined some of the windows leaked when sprayed by a hose. However, the hose testing failed to comply with the published standards for window leak testing. The hose test indicated During the investigation, McGee discovered some of the windows had been replaced after Hurricane Hugo, in 1989, and appeared to be residential instead of commercial and prefabricated instead of custom made. Because the windows were prefabricated, they were smaller than the opening and wood framing had been installed to fill the gaps. The replacement windows were also less thick than the original windows. An attorney for the Board noted issues with the statute...
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