Las Brisas Apartments

Aldrich Eike represented the owners of the Las Brisas Apartments, a 12-building, 48-unit apartment complex in northeast Portland. The apartments were constructed in 2003 for a prior ownership group. After owning the apartments for a number of years, renting them to tenants, the complex was sold to Aldrich Eike’s client, a California ownership consortium, in 2007 for over $4 million. Only a few years into owning the apartments, the ownership group noticed bowing and warping of siding and trim prevalent at the complex. Once it became readily apparent that the problems would be quite expensive to repair, the owners retained Aldrich Eike to pursue claims against the contractors involved in the original construction of the apartments for the prior owners. Aldrich Eike’s California clients were surprised to learn that in Oregon, they had claims against the contractors who built the apartments, even though the clients weren’t the party who had the apartments built, rather, the prior owner was. Ultimately, the case was resolved after two mediations for over $500,000. The settlement was more than enough to completely and properly repair the construction defects and damage at the apartments, as well as reimburse the clients for their attorney fees and consultant fees. Aldrich Eike also pursued claims against the siding manufacturer, opting out of a pending class action claim and battling the manufacturer head on. The siding manufacturer ultimately paid a confidential sum to settle the claims.

Westbrook Apartments

Aldrich Eike represented the owner of the Westbrook Apartment Complex in Aloha, Oregon. Westbrook is a 4-building, 48-unit apartment complex which was built in the 1970s, clad in stucco siding and with flat roofs. In 2005, a developer purchased the Westbrook Apartments in a dilapidated condition and spent substantial monies rehabbing the property before sale to our client. Our client had the property inspected before purchase and went through with the purchase for nearly $5 million in 2006. Shortly after purchasing the property, the owner began experiencing issues with leaks, moisture intrusion and other issues. It became increasingly apparent that the buildings had construction defects and damage stemming from original construction in the 1970s which were not properly repaired during the 2005 rehabilitation. On behalf of the owner, Aldrich Eike pursued claims against the seller, developer, and contractors involved in the 2005 rehabilitation. Aldrich Eike ultimately recovered over $1 million for the client through mediated settlements and an ultimate jury trial against one contractor who was unwilling to settle. After the case resolved, Aldrich Eike continued to represent the owner through a strategic sale of the property in its defective state with full disclosures to the ultimate buyer. Aldrich Eike was successful in negotiating with the owner’s mortgage lender to obtain renegotiation of the loan which went hand in hand with the sale to the new owner of the Apartments. The new owner spent its own money rehabilitating the apartments which are now being rented to tenants.

Willamette Estates

Aldrich Eike represented the owner/developer/builder of a large luxury Apartment complex named Willamette Estates in Salem, Oregon in pursuing claims against the civil engineer and architect of record for the construction of the project. The claims were for expenses and repair costs incurred in defending claims levied against the client for alleged violations of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Housing Act. The civil engineer and architect were defended by seasoned attorneys from the two largest law firms in Oregon, Stoel Rives and Schwabe Williamson and Wyatt. After over two years of fierce technical code driven litigation, Aldrich Eike obtained a large six figure settlement from a combination of the civil engineer and architect and their insurance carriers