Latest news with #structuraldefects
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Skerries football club faces closure over insurance dispute
A football club in Skerries is facing an uncertain future due to an ongoing dispute with its insurance provider over what has caused structural defects in its clubhouse. The club claims the deterioration is a result of subsidence and drainage issues which are covered under its policy while the insurer has said the damage has been caused as a result of mica being used in some of the blockwork and that is not covered. Karl Redmond is one of the volunteers who sits on the Skerries Town FC's management committee and he said that the club's 'long history in the local community' is under threat as a result of the stand-off. The club has around 750 members including senior men and women's teams as well as juvenile teams for boys and girls. READ MORE Mr Redmond described it as 'a vibrant club' but said the expansion of the club was 'not without its challenges [and] every new season we are trying to manage pitch availability for all our teams and meet the costs associated with running a sports club'. The main pitch and clubhouse are in the centre of the town and they cater for the majority of the club's activities. 'All possible revenue streams that include summer camps, kids parties, fundraising activities and our senior ladies and men's home games are played on our main pitch but unfortunately around two years ago we noted cracking to the side of the clubhouse. We immediately notified our Aviva our insurer of the structural damage and sought their advice.' [ How to save money on your home insurance Opens in new window ] Club members Maia Shiels, Hannah Dolan, Denis Hogan, Stephen Sherwin, Karl Redmond, Oscar Keating, Amelia Hogan, Liam Remond, Ethan O'Flaherty and Bob McKenna. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/ The Irish Times The club was told to commission 'various expert reports in order for Aviva to consider our claim' which it did at 'great expense'. It collected several expert reports from two engineers, soil experts and a drainage expert which were submitted as part of the claim. He said the evidence 'confirmed the damage to the clubhouse was as a result of subsidence, effectively due to the deterioration in the drainage system and this was creating additional pressure to the structure of the clubhouse'. He said that Aviva 'eventually commissioned their own expert report which involved one engineer's report and concluded that certain blocks in the clubhouse are defective and contain mica'. [ What it's like to live in Skerries: 'It's not perfect but we know we're lucky' Opens in new window ] The club has around 750 members including senior men and women's teams as well as juvenile teams. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/ The Irish Times He said the experts the club had commissioned 'dispute this finding' and added that Aviva 'have failed to engage with us. This has resulted in devastating consequences to the club financially and operationally'. He said it was difficult for the club to make plans for any future initiatives'. Mr Redmond, who described the club's financial situation as 'dire', said it was 'extraordinary that having always met our obligations as a club to have the necessary cover in place, we have simply been left in limbo'. He said that the insurance company had agreed to renew their policy this month while making it clear that there was no resolution to the outstanding claim. He warned that the management committee 'may have no option but to close the clubhouse [and] that will result in the likely scenario that the club will fold leaving approximately 750 footballers (mainly children) with no local club'. Aviva Insurance said it understood 'how distressing property damage can be'. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/ The Irish Times Responding to The Irish Times on the matter, Aviva Insurance said its priority was 'always to support customers when they need us most'. 'While we do not comment on individual customer cases, we understand how distressing and disruptive property damage can be – particularly for community organisations that play such a vital role in local life. 'We assess each claim carefully and fairly, based on the terms and conditions of the policy and the evidence provided. In some cases, further information or expert input may be required to reach a conclusion. 'Insurance policies seek to provide cover for specified events that cause loss or damage to the property insured, and our obligation to make any payment under the policy is dependent on one of these insured perils occurring. Section 7.6 of the Consumer Protection Code obliges all insurers to endeavour to verify the validity of a claim before deciding on its outcome. This means that we must first be satisfied that any damages claimed occurred, and that the cause of the damage is covered by the policy.' Earlier this week Mr Redmond expressed dismay at the insurance company's refusal to engage with the club and said its offers to engage in a mediation process had to date not been accepted by Aviva.
South China Morning Post
23-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
New law required to cover building repairs in Hong Kong
A parting gift from the retiring chief of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) deserves to be fully explored as a possible way to defuse structural defects that have been compared to 'bombs' lurking in many of Hong Kong's ageing buildings. In an official blog post on his final day as managing director, Wai Chi-sing announced the body was researching legislation to require landlords to form periodic maintenance plans for their blocks and ensure sufficient funds for such work. On June 14, Wai wrote that the URA would also look into creating a new statutory body to supervise building restorations and maintenance. For years, there have been calls for authorities to improve maintenance and inspections. The Buildings Department was criticised in a 2020 Audit Commission report for slow progress in checking old buildings. The pandemic only made things worse and the risks have grown ever more unacceptable. One recent example was in February, when a 79-year-old man was injured by concrete falling from a block of flats in the Causeway Bay shopping district. Building owners failed to follow up on a mandatory building and window inspection notice from 2020. Threats of fines and jail time alone are apparently not enough. Wai's proposal stresses the importance of preventive maintenance by owners, as well as for the authority to act as a 'facilitator'. The move wants landlords to create 'periodic maintenance and repair plans'. New laws or amended regulations would also require them to come up with arrangements for budgeting and contributions to maintenance funds to 'encourage landlords to more actively fulfil their responsibilities'. As Donald Choi Wun-hing becomes head of the URA, the authority faces major challenges. The Buildings Department estimates the number of private buildings aged 50 years or older will rise from 8,700 in 2020 to about 13,900 by 2030. In recent years, building owners have all too often been unaware or unwilling to take advantage of the URA's voluntary assistance schemes. A new approach could lead to laws that are effective by focusing less on punishment and more on requiring owners to participate and plan in a way that ensures buildings remain safe.
CTV News
15-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Condo owners sue over New York skyscraper they say is riddled with ‘thousands of severe cracks'
The condo board at 432 Park Avenue claims the skyscraper's developers failed to disclose the extent of damage that has resulted in flooding and impacted the value of their multimillion-dollar properties. (via CNN Newsource) Apartment owners at a luxury New York skyscraper are suing the building's developers over a 'far-reaching fraud' in which they allegedly hid structurally significant defects — including 'thousands' of severe cracks on the tower's facade. The condo board at 432 Park Avenue, a super-skinny high-rise on Manhattan's Billionaire's Row, claims that real estate firm CIM Group failed to disclose the extent of damage that has resulted in flooding and impacted the value of their multimillion-dollar properties. Filed at the state court in New York in late April, the lawsuit also names architecture and engineering companies involved in the project. Condo owners are collectively seeking more than US$165 million in damages, according to the complaint. Completed in 2015, the slender 1,396-foot-tall skyscraper has a 15:1 height-to-width ratio, putting it among the so-called 'pencil towers' now dotting midtown Manhattan's skyline. To protect against high winds, the building was designed with unoccupied floors that encourage airflow, anchors drilled deep into the bedrock and 'tuned mass dampers' that act like pendulums to counteract swaying. Property developer Harry Macklowe — whose firm McGraw Hudson Construction Corp is also named in the suit — compared the tower to the Empire State Building, telling the New York Times in 2013 that it was 'the building of the 21st century.' Pop star Jennifer Lopez and Chinese businessman Ye Jianming are among those reported to have purchased units there for eight-figure sums. But owners and residents have since complained of numerous construction issues, including more than 20 water leaks since 2017, according to the complaint. In 2021, the condo board filed a lawsuit alleging a range of defects, from malfunctioning elevators and poor energy efficiency to a trash chute that sounds 'like a bomb' when used. The new lawsuit meanwhile claims that the tower's facade is 'plagued with thousands of severe cracks, spalling, and other forms of deterioration,' including a 10-inch-deep crack in the building's core. As well as causing flooding, the damage has corroded some of the steel in the tower's reinforced concrete columns, the complaint alleges. While the 2021 complaint also detailed 'substantial cracking,' the condo board said it filed its most recent action after claiming it uncovered evidence that defendants had 'conspired' to conceal the extent and seriousness of the defects. In statements provided to CNN, both CIM Group and SLCE Architects, the project's architect of record, said they 'vehemently' deny the claims and are moving to have the complaint dismissed. Engineering firm WSP declined to comment. McGraw Hudson Construction Corp did not respond to CNN's inquiries. The lawsuit attributes cracking to the building's 'experimental' facade, which is made from white concrete. The material is, it says, 'typically used for aesthetic purposes' and had to be strengthened to withstand the supertall building's structural load — especially during high winds. Among the suit's allegations are claims that CIM Group ignored concerns raised by various concrete consultants, as well as the project's late architect Rafael Viñoly about the strength of the concrete mix. The condo board claims that mockup tests showed the material's use would result in cracking. But CIM Group and its contractors 'bulled forward' with 'complete disregard for… the inevitable problems it would cause for the building and its future residents,' the suit adds. The condo board alleges that, despite having knowledge of the facade's defects, SLCE Architects deceived condo owners by making 'materially false' claims in its offering plan, a document disclosing important information to potential buyers. (The lawsuit cites an alleged change in the document's wording, which went from claiming the concrete 'will' prevent water penetration to saying that it was only 'designed to' do so.) Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that McGraw Hudson and WSP misled New York City Department of Buildings in a letter that 'misrepresented the nature, extent, and type of cracking.' It claims the letter failed to disclose the full findings of a survey that had discovered 1,893 defects. The complaint claims that developers then 'repeatedly rejected' recommendations on how to address issues that arose. A suggestion that an opaque elastomeric covering could be applied to the facade to prevent air and water infiltration, for instance, was ignored because it would 'significantly alter' the building's appearance and make it less appealing to 'the world's billionaires,' the lawsuit alleges. Oscar Holland, CNN
