MIAMI — A property owner has filed suit against an environmental services company for allegedly submitting an erroneous evaluation of two property sites' environmental condition.
Miami River Project LLC filed a complaint Aug. 24 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Groundwater Environmental Group Inc., Eric L. Aserlind and Edmand B. Workman, alleging that they failed to exercise due diligence.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in 2013, Miami River Project LLC through its partner KMT Development Partners, contacted the defendant to conduct an evaluation on two parcels of land that the plaintiff was contemplating buying for a condominium project. The defendants supposedly concluded in their report that there were no recognized environmental conditions found and opined that no additional assessment was needed. But when the plaintiff went ahead with the purchase, it sought a foundation permit from the Division of Environmental Resource Management (DERM), which was denied because records allegedly documented soil and groundwater contamination related to the area’s previous industrial use, causing the plaintiff to purportedly incur significant costs to comply with DERM’s requirements and incur damages caused by the delay.
The plaintiff holds Groundwater Environmental Group Inc., Eric L. Aserlind and Edmand B. Workman responsible because the defendants allegedly failed to identify the documented contamination and failed to apply due diligence in performing services.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks to find the defendant liable for damages suffered, award damages, costs of suit and other relief as the court deems appropriate. It is represented by Eric P. Hockman of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman PL in Coral Gables.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida case number 16-cv-23639