Condo Dispute Ends as Payments to Owners Resume

A yearlong fight between the developer of a problem-plagued Agoura Hills condominium complex and its residents ended over the weekend as homeowners who have received reimbursement checks began moving out of the units.

Westlake Villas developer Hilbert Chu and insurance companies involved in the complicated dispute are buying buy back 19 dwelling units that were sold to residents before tests showed that substandard foundations were the cause of slipping walls and cracked slabs.

Homeowners will receive an average of $30,000 per family to cover their individual investments in the damaged units. The settlement will also include moving expense fees.

The settlement was negotiated in March. But a snag developed early last month when the payments, totaling about $700,000, were delayed because of funding problems involving several of the builders.

On June 6, five families filed a $17.5-million damage suit against Chu and his builders, charging that the delay in the reimbursement was jeopardizing their chances to buy new homes.

The suit was dropped last week after the payments were resumed. As a result, two families were able to move out over the weekend and several more expect to move this week, according to Shirley Sluder, one of the homeowners.

Sluder said 12 families remain at the 27-unit complex, which is to be repaired after it is vacated. She said about four families are awaiting payment and will move when their reimbursements arrive.

Problems at the three-year-old complex have been blamed on shallow foundations that have allowed walls to settle and floors and ceilings to crack. The Los Angeles County building inspector who approved the allegedly shoddy workmanship was later disciplined by county officials.