Plaza Grande Owners Taking Class Action to Developer

A suit that started out as four local condo owners against a developer has morphed into a class action, after a state Superior Court judge certified the class Friday.

A group of residents of the Plaza Grande, a 55-and-older community in the Garden State Park redevelopment area, originally filed at the end of 2011, but Superior Court Judge Deborah Silverman Katz certified a class made up of all condo owners in the complex who originally purchased from developer D.R. Horton.

The suit came about because of what owners say was a failure to make good on promised amenities, including a clubhouse and both indoor and outdoor pools.

In the suit, residents have demanded D.R. Horton turn over control of the condo board to the local owners, unless the developer resumes construction on the complex, which is shown as having 25 buildings in at least one set of plans for the entire racetrack redevelopment. Just four buildings have been built.

In granting the class action, the court assigned attorney Stephen P. DeNittis of Marlton to represent the residents. DeNittis called the certification an early victory for the residents.

“It means that it is not simply a few residents who are suing D.R. Horton, but all Plaza Grande condo owners who were original purchasers,” he said in a statement.

Beyond just granting the class action, the court squelched a motion by D.R. Horton attorneys for summary judgment and a dismissal.

“Eight years ago, D.R. Horton made written promises to these people which have not been kept,” DeNittis said. “[Friday’s] rulings mean that all Plaza Grande condo owners who were original purchasers have now banded together and are collectively asking the court to order D.R. Horton to keep those promises.”

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