Opinion ID: 2319344
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Events Prior to WCD's Lawsuit

Text: The record reveals that NTV owns a condominium building located at 1430 K Street, in the Northwest quadrant of the District of Columbia. On June 6, 2006, NTV (represented by its founder and manager, Nicole T. Totah) and WCD (represented by Dr. Deutsch) executed a Purchase and Sale Agreement (contract) for Unit 800 (Unit) to house WCD's dental practice. The units in the building were sold in shell form, which meant that they were unfinished at the time of purchase. Under Section 7.8 of the contract, a purchaser could elect to build out the unit (Purchaser Build Option), or could choose to have NTV build out the unit (Seller Build Option). WCD selected the Seller Build Option on June 19, 2006. [1] Although WCD selected the Seller Build Option, it preferred its own contractor, the John Valentine Company (Valentine), due to Valentine's experience in building out dental offices. Consequently, Dr. Deutsch met with Karen Powell (Valentine's owner) and Ms. Totah to work out an agreement that would allow Valentine to act as the general contractor for the Unit. The parties agreed that Valentine would perform all of the general contractor duties for the WCD job. To accomplish this end, Valentine would subcontract with NTV's general contractor, Kfoury Construction Group (Kfoury), and Kfoury would retain its role as the Designated Contractor. Valentine and WCD memorialized their arrangement in a letter agreement, dated October 22, 2006, approving certain costs. [2] However, neither NTV nor Kfoury entered into a contract with Valentine. NTV and Kfoury executed their agreement in November 2006, for the Build-Out Work for the WCD Unit; this agreement specified that [t]he Contractor [Kfoury] shall achieve Substantial Completion of the entire Work not later than February 1, 2007. Drs. Deutsch, Doctors, and Telis signed (on November 10, 2006) a letter dated November 2, 2006, which stated, in part: Please indicate your approval and agreement with [NTV] executing a contract with Kfoury Construction Group to construct the Build-Out Work for Unit 800. . . . (November Addendum). The Build-Out Timeline extended from August 21, 2006 through February 1, 2007, when the Build-Out Work was to be Substantially Complete. [3] However, as the construction work unfolded, the February 1, 2007 substantial completion date became an issue. On January 2, 2007, WCD sent NTV a letter stating that the February 1, 2007 substantial completion date was no longer realistic, as the Build-Out Work would not likely be complete by then. Instead, WCD advised that it anticipate[d] a Closing Date on or about February 28, 2007. [4] On January 17, 2007, NTV replied to WCD, pointing out that WCD was responsible for any delays in the substantial completion of the Build-Out Work beyond February 1, 2007. NTV alleged that [t]he build[-]out was scheduled to be completed by February 1, 2007 per the [contract], and if not, WCD would be responsible for the delay and . . . required under the [contract] to pay [NTV's] costs resulting from the delay. [5] WCD's refusal to do so, NTV alleged, would result in default[.] If the Unit was complete, NTV contended that WCD must close or . . . be in default of the [contract]. On January 22, 2007, Ms. Totah sent a letter to Charles Joch, WCD's architect, requesting that he inspect the Unit and provide a written opinion by January 26, as to whether the Unit will be substantially complete by February 1, 2007. On January 26, after performing his inspection, Mr. Joch notified Ms. Totah that he did not consider the space to be Substantially Complete. Ms. Totah then requested that her own architect, Aaron Thoren, inspect the space to determine whether it was Substantially Complete. Mr. Thoren performed his inspection on January 31, 2007, and sent a memorandum to Ms. Totah notifying her that he considered the Unit Substantially Complete. NTV promptly requested that WCD proceed to closing on February 6, 2007. On February 6, 2007, WCD's attorney sent a letter to Ms. Totah objecting to the Closing Date as premature, as the Unit was not secure, thereby preventing WCD from installing its dental equipment. Ms. Totah claimed that NTV's carrying costs would be $56,907 if it extended the Closing Date to February 28, 2007. The parties agreed that WCD would place $56,907 in an escrow account while they worked to resolve the dispute over whether substantial completion ha[d] occurred or the respective parties' liability for delay damages under the contract. . . . The parties agreed on February 9, 2007, that they would proceed to closing on February 28, 2007, regardless of whether the space was Substantially Complete at that time. The parties closed the sale of the Unit on March 1, 2007.