Bay Isles Associates last week settled a lawsuit filed against the developer by buyers of 30 units at its Grande Bay Resort. The parties were scheduled to appear at a V.I. Superior Court hearing on Friday, February 29, which was subsequently canceled. The settlement bars both parties from disclosing its terms.
In the second lawsuit filed by Grande Bay condo owners against the project’s developer, the plaintiffs alleged the development suffers from environmental contamination and structural issues. The owners also claimed they were being forced to close on their units despite the incomplete nature of the development, lack of promised amenities and the developer’s use of substandard materials including doors and cabinetry.
“The developer of Grande Bay Resort, Bay Isles Associates, and the group of buyers which had filed suit in Superior Court and with the Board of Land Use Appeals have dismissed all claims in both the court and with BLUA,” according to a written statement released last week by Bay Isles. “Both the developer and the buyers have very amicably resolved all issues.”
Kelly Frye of Bay Isles Associates did not comment further on the settlement when contacted last week.
Another Lawsuit, One Still On-going
A separate group of owners in June 2007 filed a motion requesting a temporary restraining order preventing Bay Isles from filing new condo documents, which the plaintiffs alleged were “significantly changed,” with the Recorder of Deeds. The temporary restraining order was granted, and the plaintiffs later settled with Bay Isles in that case.
Bay Isles is still entangled in a legal battle with four owners of a neighboring Cruz Bay cottage — Alexander Jadan, Natalie Jadan, Anastasia Trey and Liza Trey. The plaintiffs recently filed their reply to Bay Isles’ opposition to a motion for partial summary judgement asking for the removal of the top two stories of the developer’s luxury condominium development and damages to be determined at trial before a Superior Court judge.
“I’m expecting the court to set a hearing on the matter,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney Lorren Caffee. “We don’t really know the terms of the settlement with the contract holders or to what extent it affects our case, if at all. At any rate, we’re hoping the court will do something in the way of our motion for partial summary judgement.”
The Jadan and Trey families first filed suit against Bay Isles in November 2005.
