By Tommaso Baronio
A Broward jury returned a verdict in favor of Brookfield Properties, the owner of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel property in Ft. Lauderdale, after David Stern, a disbarred attorney, previously known as the “Foreclosure King of Florida,” sued them.
Stern was a South Florida attorney who made a fortune off the housing crisis in 2008, becoming the go-to lawyer for foreclosures. In 2014, the Florida Supreme Court disbarred Stern over accusations of fraud and misconduct.
He was the plaintiff and owner of the penthouse in the Castillo Grand Residences, a luxury condo in the Ritz Carlton Hotel building.
Between 2015 and 2021, Stern alleged water intrusion and property damage in his unit, which led to an eight-year litigation battle culminating with a three-and-a-half-week jury trial in the Broward Circuit Court.
According to the initial complaint, the bulk of the water intrusions emanated from the roof, windows, doors and common elements of the building and caused substantial damage to the unit. Stern said he repeatedly paid out of pocket the cost to repair damages.
“Nevertheless, the hotel owner has failed to make all of the requisite repairs or replacement to the roof, windows, and exterior doors of the Unit to ensure that these leaks do not recur,” the initial complaint stated.
Stern initially asked for more than $1 million.
The defendant was represented by Curtis Miner, Zachary Lipshultz, Aziza Elayan, and Michelle Roberto from Colson Hicks Eidson and Jodi Kleinick from Paul Hastings.
“We tried to keep it simple and understandable,” Miner said. “ This is a case where there were a number of expert witnesses on the plaintiff’s side and a number of expert witnesses on our side, and everything from roof drains to roof membranes to the sliding glass door system to curtain walls, but throughout we just try to keep it simple and understandable without getting too lost in the weeds.”
According to Miner, the case was dragged to the jury in an attempt to shift the plaintiff’s legal fees.
However, the jury did not reach the question of damages, which at trial dropped to $130,000. The verdict ruled there is no liability.
Speaking about the challenges the defense counsel had to overcome, Miner said that the actual engineering and digging into what caused the leaks and what was done to repair them.
He noted: “Stern had a very well-resourced team of experienced lawyers on his side.”
