Justice Elizabeth Yablon
The Board of Managers sued condominium's sponsor, Hopetel, and managing agent Chen, for claims including breach of contract, relating to construction of and alleged defects in construction of a building. When the building was 85 percent completed, contractors left the job. Hopetel proceeded to sell units, but later transferred management of the building to Chao. As part of a prior litigation a list of deficiencies in the building was created, including roof issues. Plaintiffs argued Chen always promised to make repairs to the roof, which he did not dispute. They also alleged Chen was individually responsible for Hopetel's decisions. The court stated sponsor Hopetel owed a duty to plaintiff and unit owners that the condo would be in accordance with the offering plan, finding such was not the case. It noted Chen agreed to have the building defects, especially the roof, repaired, thus a breach of contract was found. The court found as $402,490 was the suggested cost of repairs by defendants in a prior suit, it was the appropriate figure for Hopetel to pay plaintiff for the repair. Yet, there was no showing Chen failed to adhere to corporate formalities, and proof showed he did not use corporate funds for personal use, thus, piercing the corporate veil was unwarranted.