9/24/2008

Spurned OPA member files lawsuit
By Bob Lassahn

Sports Core Concrete 1    Sports Core Concrete2     Sports Core Concrete 3

During the September 16 Ocean Pines Association (OPA) Board of Directors meeting Mr. Douglas Loewer, owner of 24 properties in the Ocean Pines community, used the public comments portion of the meeting to announce he has filed suit against OPA, the individual directors (excluding Marty Clarke, explanation follows later) and General Manager Tom Olson. The crux of his suit stems from what he terms his filing as “poor quality, unworkmanlike and below industry standards concrete work” at the Sports Core Pool.

Mr. Loewer is a licensed/registered Professional Engineer (MD registration #11845) operating in Berlin, MD as Loewer and Associates, in addition to being the principal in Pines Plaza Limited Partnership, which holds title to his Ocean Pines properties. In total Mr. Loewer owns between 50 and 60 properties in the local area.

On September 23 this writer met with Mr. Loewer at the Sports Core Pool for a first hand look at the basis for his complaint. Touring the complex he pointed out numerous spots where the concrete appeared to be substandard workmanship and was in fact beginning to deteriorate. The saga of Mr. Loewer’s attempts to reach some accord with OPA on this issue stretches back to November 2007, when he notified the general manager in writing of his concerns. In the letter he suggested the contractor should not be paid and the work redone.

After failing to receive a reply to his November 2007 letter Mr. Loewer paid a personal visit to Mr. Olson in February 2008 seeking answers to his questions about the concrete work. Mr. Loewer states he was informed by Mr. Olson that he (Olson) had personally inspected the concrete work before payment was rendered. Further Mr. Olson did not respond to Mr. Loewer’s inquiries regarding acceptability of the work.

On March 10, 2008 Mr. Olson generated a letter on OPA stationary suggesting that Mr. Loewer should meet with General Contractor Marvin Steen to discuss his concerns. In a written response to the suggestion Mr. Loewer declined stating, “I am certainly not going to meet with the contractor. He has no contract with me and, therefore, no obligation.” He then commented, “You (Olson) caused the problem by approving the work and authorizing the payment. The contract is between the contractor and the Ocean Pines Association. The contractor is obligated to the Association and the Association has a fiduciary responsibility to its members. One of those members is Pines Plaza limited Partnership.”

On August 14, 2008 Mr. Lower sent a letter to the OPA board putting them on notice that he expected some communication regarding his complaint or he would file a writ with the circuit court. In his letter he reasoned that the work was approaching the end of the one year warranty period. Mr. Loewer states the only member of the board to contact him regarding his issue was Director Marty Clarke, therefore the only director not named in the court action.

Mr. Loewer commented that he cannot comprehend why OPA would consider paying an attorney to defend against his lawsuit rather than simply fix the problem. He reasons the repairs would likely be the less expensive option and lamented that the board’s failure to respond to a member’s concern had exacerbated a situation that could have been easily reconciled with open communication.

Mr. Loewer explains that his motivation is primarily one of safety for users of the pool. The users include his wife, the person who brought the matter to his attention in the first place. He says that pools demand a higher standard in such regard since there are people in bare feet, the concrete is wet and there is a substantial portion of users who are likely children or seniors. The broken fragments pose a danger to unprotected skin, the water increases the propensity for deteriorating concrete to become slippery and uneven surfaces could cause someone to trip or fall.

According to Mr. Loewer there are many areas where concrete patchwork was spread too thin, causing it to flake off and that some surfaces were improperly finished. His prediction that the concrete would flake was supported by the condition of numerous areas around doorways, where users would obviously be walking.

In a message posted on OceanPinesForum.com on September 19 Director Ray Unger commented, “Marty (referring to Director Marty Clarke), Bill. R. (referring to Director Bill Rakow) and I, along with a local concrete contractor inspected the sports core pool over a month ago.  The interior edge work is not as good as it should be but it looked safe and acceptable to all of us.  The contractor made some recommendations which our Public Works Dept. could probably do to improve these areas.  I tried to talk to Mr. Loewer but he refused to listen and walked away.  I guess I was not saying what he wanted to hear.”

In a subsequent message Mr. Unger further commented, “No one every [sic] complained about any of the work at the Sports Core Pool until Mr. Loewer's wife said something to him.  Most of the work we are looking at was not paid for but done gratis.  To grind surface concrete below the grad[e] required is silly.”

Reached by phone, OPA Board President Dave Stevens and General Manager Tom Olson both declined to comment on the matter, citing pending legal action. Once referred to their attorney, OPA’s policy is generally to refrain from issuing any public statements. 

To clarify, the court action brought by Mr. Loewer specifically seeks only correction of the problems with the concrete as a remedy. He say he pursued this method of recourse only after his attempts to otherwise reconcile the issue were spurned by the general manager and the board.