(Palm Beach County, Florida) – Attorneys Kristin Vivo, an experienced in-house corporate counsel, and Mark R. Osherow, a veteran South Florida business litigator, recently won a damages award of $525,608 for their client, Aquastar Holdings, LLC against Avant Design Group Inc. The judgment was filed in December in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Miami-Dade County, with Judge Abby Cynamon presiding over the bench trial.
According to Osherow, this multi-day, non-jury trial was “either the first or one of the first conducted via Zoom in this court.”
The dispute stemmed from interior design work for a residential unit in the presitigous Miami community of Surside. Avant, an interior design firm, was hired to perform interior construction services for the $8 million condo located in a new exclusive residential tower. Avant’s contract was terminated after the firm refused to submit to Aquastar back up invoices for payment to vendors. Avant sued to enforce its lien claim. Aquastar filed a separate lawsuit for overpayments. The cases were consolidated.
An audit performed by a CPA hired by Aquastar revealed a number of improprieties by the design firm after Aquastar provided and advanced payment of more than $1.1 million. Among the issues were: payments to other clients, backdating of invoices, padding of charges, in addition to charges over and above the “cost plus 20%” stated in the contract. The Court concluded that Avant was overpaid by more than $460,700. In addition, the firm filed a fraudulent lien, charged for work not done and left the job with items not completed, resulting in additional costs to Aquastar of nearly $67,000. Therefore, the total judgment amount exceeded $525,000. Claims for fees and punitive damages related to the lien claim are pending.
“. . .it is Avant who owes Aquastar money,” states the judgment. “Thus, competent substantial evidence supports a conclusion that Aquastar overpaid Avant for Avant’s services.” The Judgment further states that “given that the evidence indicates Aquastar overpaid Avant by $460,738.93, it defies logic that Avant would be entitled to foreclose on a lien for an additional $66,909.21.”
“Throughout my career, I’ve seen many cases where services are unjustly padded or overcharged, or the contract terms are interpreted by one side contrary to the plain meaning of the printed words,” said Osherow. “Construction is a particulary vulnerable area because timetables are tight and many projects are underway simultaneously. We are fortunate in this case that our client was able to present a convincing case.”
“Carefully monitoring work performed by the vendors in addition to examining project finances is always prudent,” added Vivo. “Unfortunately even when you hire vendors with whom you’ve worked before or trust completely, complications and fraud can arise.”
For a copy of the final judgment please see the Miami-Dade County Official Records at Book 32228, Page 780 which can be viewed using County Recorder Official Record Search located at https://onlineservices.miami-dadeclerk.com/officialrecords/
Kristin Vivo
Vivo is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law and has worked as in-house counsel for such companies as Yahoo!, Anixter, and Del Monte Fresh Produce. Consistently named a top rated Business & Corporate attorney for Super Lawyers, Vivo is also a native Spanish and Portuguese speaker; she studied and worked in Latin America, including attending the University of Buenos Aires School of Law. (www.kristinvivolaw.com)
Mark R. Osherow
Osherow, a first-chair trial lawyer, certified in specialist in business litigation by The Florida Bar. He is admitted to practice in Florida, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Named a “Super Lawyer” 14 years in a row, he received his Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1988. (www.osherowpllc.com) Follow Osherow, PLLC on LinkedIn and Twitter.