Loft owners share settlement

Owners of the 20 loft condominiums at the Toy Warehouse in downtown Los Angeles will share about $1.3 million in a settlement stemming from a lawsuit over alleged construction defects, attorneys said last week.

The 20 lofts at 215 S. Santa Fe Ave. sold out almost immediately after construction in 2001-02, with prices ranging from $200,000 to $490,000.

However, the homeowners claimed that they could hear their neighbors cooking dinner, talking, watching TV and snoring, plaintiffs’ attorney Thomas E. Miller said.

They sued, alleging that the builder never followed the building plans, omitted soundproofing between the walls and floors and knew about the problem, Miller said.