Opinion ID: 2640748
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Construction of Newtown Meadows

Text: Site work and grading operations were performed by Royal and/or Lee, see supra note 2, under Geolabs' observation from October 9, 1986 to December 3, 1987. Meanwhile, on May 8, 1987, the Real Estate Commission of the State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (the real estate commission) issued the final report on Newtown Meadows, entitled The Condominium Public Report on Newtown Meadows (the Condominium Public Report). [3] Subsequent to the completion of the site work and grading operations, problems arose relating to soil settlement beneath Building 3 during the construction of the ten buildings. [4] On January 17, 1988, Humphrey Asher, the owner of unit 3F1 in Building 3, sent a letter to S. Horita, reiterating his earlier oral complaints that cracks had surfaced throughout his entire unit and that [i]t appear[ed] that [his unit's] foundation [was] shifting and[,] as a result[,] serious damages have occurred[.] Asher also mentioned that his doors cannot close and the sliding doors are about to fall out of their frames. Asher stated that the units next to him have sustained similar damages. Asher further stated in his letter that: On December 23, 1987[,] I telephoned Mr. Harry Horita[, president and general manager of S. Horita,] and I attempted to seek out answers in regards to the occurred damages to my [u]nit[.] Mr. Harry Horita responded by telling me that he had spoken to Mr. Matsui[, the onsite project supervisor,] and they concluded that it appeared to be a compactual [sic] ground problem. Mr. Harry Horita further stated that he was trying to get in touch with the contractor and engineers that were responsible for compacting the ground properly that my [u]nit is resting on. . . . . On December 25, 1987[,] I received a telephone call from Mr. Charles Honma (Project Mgr., Newtown Meadows) and he stated as follows, Mr. Asher, I just wish to apologize for what has happened to your [u]nit that you moved in. . . . It appears to be a soil problem and perhaps the ground was not properly compacted. In response to Asher's complaints, Royal retained Geolabs to perform sub-surface grouting [5] to attempt to strengthen the subsoils to reduce the potential for further settlements and damage to the structure[,] i.e., Building 3, sometime in January or February 1988. On February 18, 1988, Geolabs issued a report, entitled Subsurface Grouting, Building 3, Newtown Meadows [hereinafter, the Grouting Report], to Royal and sent a copy of the Grouting Report to Venture 15. The Grouting Report provided in relevant part: The purpose of our work on the project was to inject neat cement grout under pressure at selected depths within the settlement affected area of Building 3 to attempt to strengthen the subsoils to reduce the potential for further settlements and damage to the structure. The scope of our work included the drilling of 37 holes to depths of approximately ten (10) feet below the existing ground surface, the installation of grout tubes in the drilled holes and the injecting of approximately 4,200 gallons of grout. . . . . The injection grouting utilizing the Tube a' Manchette system at Building 3 indicates that the underlying soils were soft and probably contained voids or loose seams. The volumes of cement slurry pumped should help to densify the soil mass and help to stabilize the soils (reduce future settlements) underlying the building. . . . . Although the grouting should help to reduce the compressibility of the loose subsoils, it is not possible to guarantee that further ground settlements will not occur. (Emphases added.) Five days later, on February 23, 1988, Geolabs issued a second report, entitled Compaction Report, Newtown Meadows, [hereinafter, the Compaction Report], to Community Planning. The Compaction Report stated in relevant part that, based on Geolabs' observations and test results, it is Geolabs' opinion that [Newtown Meadows] has been constructed to final grade and compacted adequately.  (Emphasis added.) On March 8, 1988, Honma sent a letter to Asher, follow[ing] up on the corrective work that was done, and is being done, due to some uncompacted fill below portions of [Asher's] building[, i.e., Building 3]. Honma stated that [t]he poorly compacted fill area was densified by a pump grout (a mixture of cement and water) under pressure, into the subsoils[,] presumably referring to the work done by Geolabs. In his letter, Honma also set forth certain actions that would be undertaken in order to remedy the problem caused by the soil settlement[] in Asher's unit. At some point, the Compaction Report was apparently submitted to the City and County of Honolulu (City) Building Department. According to the AOAO, the Compaction Report was used to obtain final approval of the Newtown Meadows project from various governmental entities, including the City Building Department[.] By May 6, 1988, construction of all ten buildings at Newtown Meadows was completed.