General Discussion

BlueWaveNeverEnd

(7,963 posts) Fri Mar 29, 2024, 06:06 AM Mar 29

after a house is built on wrong lot, developer sues lot owner for "unjust enrichment"

The bizarre story, which involves a construction crew building a three-bedroom family home on the wrong plot of land, has resulted in high emotions, recriminations, and now a court case in which the developers are suing nearly everyone involved.

“It’s terrible. I felt like I wanted to cry,” Reynolds told SFGATE. “There is this house on my land, and it’s not mine.”

A lawyer for the developer, however, argues that the development company is the only party to have sustained monetary losses in the ordeal.

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Reynolds said her property taxes more than doubled due to the increased value of the land. She said she hired an attorney “well versed on the art of feminine negotiation,” and was expecting to receive an offer from the developer, but the conflict only escalated. In a final twist that even Reynolds didn’t see coming, the developer is now suing her. In a civil case filed on Jan. 30, the developer alleges Reynolds was “unjustly enriched” by the construction of a home on her land and should pay them back.

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The developers’ lawyer, however, said that Reynolds appears to be taking advantage of the mistake. “This is not bullying,” Olson said. “Keaau Development Partnership is the the only entity that has suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of losses. She’s trying to exploit the situation to get money from my client and the other parties.”

“The property has increased in value over hundreds of thousands of dollars without having her pay a penny for it,” he added.

Keaau Development is also suing almost everyone involved in the mistake, including the construction crew, the architect, the county and even the previous owner of the land Reynolds bought. The developer alleges that after paying PJ’s Construction about $300,000 to build the home, the owner of the company “materially breached the contract by constructing a house on the wrong lot,” and failed to “conduct his due diligence in locating lot 115.”

https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/article/hawaii-home-built-on-wrong-lot-19371615.php

14 replies

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Highlight:

after a house is built on wrong lot, developer sues lot owner for "unjust enrichment" (Original Post) BlueWaveNeverEnd Mar 29 OP

Is Keaau Development a subsidiary of Trump Org.? Buns_of_Fire Mar 29 #1

What the hell is "the art of feminine negotiation" genxlib Mar 29 #2

That's on the writer and their editor JustAnotherGen Mar 29 #6

SFGate is a respectable paper; if it uses quote marks, it means it, so it's what Reynolds said. muriel_volestrangler Mar 29 #8

And what she said was fine JustAnotherGen Mar 29 #11

That's a quote from the lot owner. It's not from the writer. Renew Deal Mar 29 #14

Building a home by mistake on someone else's land... Omnipresent Mar 29 #3

Absolute madness. I so hope the land owner can prevail. Celerity Mar 29 #4

I'm team Reynolds JustAnotherGen Mar 29 #5

more: she got call from realtor. "I just sold a house built on your land. we need to resolve this" BlueWaveNeverEnd Mar 29 #7

And she said no JustAnotherGen Mar 29 #12

Tear down the house and return the lot to its original condition. Pay the lot owner... Lancero Mar 29 #9

This sounds like... 2naSalit Mar 29 #10

This is reminiscent of a question on a Property Law exam in law school. no_hypocrisy Mar 29 #13

Buns_of_Fire

(17,181 posts)

1. Is Keaau Development a subsidiary of Trump Org.?

Reply to BlueWaveNeverEnd (Original post)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 06:17 AM

Mar 29

"Building Bigly Beauriful Bungalows Since 2024"

(But if we screw up and forget to attach the golden toilet to a sewer line, it's YOUR fault and we reserve the right to explore all legal remedies into perpetuity. Look it up. It's in the Trumpstitution.)

genxlib

(5,528 posts)

2. What the hell is "the art of feminine negotiation"

Reply to BlueWaveNeverEnd (Original post)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 06:34 AM

Mar 29

It sounds like what a misogynist would call something when he is looking for an excuse that he got beat by a female.

JustAnotherGen

(31,828 posts)

6. That's on the writer and their editor

Reply to genxlib (Reply #2)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 06:44 AM

Mar 29

I'm assuming this article is a result of a press release by the developer.

What about the poor little developer?

muriel_volestrangler

(101,321 posts)

8. SFGate is a respectable paper; if it uses quote marks, it means it, so it's what Reynolds said.

Reply to JustAnotherGen (Reply #6)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 06:52 AM

Mar 29

It's the way she talks.

Oddly, I thought the article was on Reynolds' side, and it clearly paints the developer as incompetent and whiny.

JustAnotherGen

(31,828 posts)

11. And what she said was fine

Reply to muriel_volestrangler (Reply #8)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 07:26 AM

Mar 29

If we were all left brained - the world would suck.

Renew Deal

(81,861 posts)

14. That's a quote from the lot owner. It's not from the writer.

Reply to genxlib (Reply #2)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 07:55 AM

Mar 29

“Reynolds said her property taxes more than doubled due to the increased value of the land. She said she hired an attorney “well versed on the art of feminine negotiation,””

Omnipresent

(5,714 posts)

3. Building a home by mistake on someone else's land...

Reply to BlueWaveNeverEnd (Original post)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 06:35 AM

Mar 29

Is a much slower moving process than a cargo ship aiming towards a bridge pillar.
That developer skipped a step by not having the land surveyed first.

Celerity

(43,411 posts)

4. Absolute madness. I so hope the land owner can prevail.

Reply to BlueWaveNeverEnd (Original post)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 06:39 AM

Mar 29

JustAnotherGen

(31,828 posts)

5. I'm team Reynolds

Reply to BlueWaveNeverEnd (Original post)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 06:41 AM

Mar 29

The failure of the local planning board to manage and control out of control developers is on them.

I hope her attorney gets the tax rate put back to where it was prior to the theft until the case is decided.

If I was the township Council - I would vote for the reset of taxes and tell the Assessor and Collector they are fired unless they correct the issue now.

BlueWaveNeverEnd

(7,963 posts)

7. more: she got call from realtor. "I just sold a house built on your land. we need to resolve this"

Reply to BlueWaveNeverEnd (Original post)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 06:47 AM

Mar 29

developer asked her if she wanted to swap lots.

JustAnotherGen

(31,828 posts)

12. And she said no

Reply to BlueWaveNeverEnd (Reply #7)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 07:28 AM

Mar 29

The developer could always move the home to the correct lot.

Lancero

(3,003 posts)

9. Tear down the house and return the lot to its original condition. Pay the lot owner...

Reply to BlueWaveNeverEnd (Original post)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 07:10 AM

Mar 29

Rent for however many months their company was illegally occupying her land.

A nice simple solution that ensures proper compensation for the lot owner while preventing so-called 'unjust enrichment'. Then go after whoever fucked up the paperwork and built the house on a incorrect lot for initial costs of construction and costs to return the lot to it's original state.

Alternatively, they could pay the lot owner rent for the land. Odd sounding setup, but their cases where the building owner differs from the land owner. Simpler solution perhaps, but that'd require the original owner willing to abandon their original plans for the lot.

2naSalit

(86,647 posts)

10. This sounds like...

Reply to BlueWaveNeverEnd (Original post)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 07:14 AM

Mar 29

She should sue the asses off the developer and anyone who approved the project as well as the fucking realtor.

Securing an attorney would be my first move.

no_hypocrisy

(46,122 posts)

13. This is reminiscent of a question on a Property Law exam in law school.

Reply to BlueWaveNeverEnd (Original post)

Fri Mar 29, 2024, 07:48 AM

Mar 29

One problem is that the house on the wrong lot can't be sold as surveys would show the Seller doesn't own the land under it.

Another problem is that the Owner of the Original Land didn't stop the construction before it had progressed with an injunction. If she did nothing for maybe 20 years and someone lived there (e.g., leasing, not owning), they could own the property via adverse possession.

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