On January 31, 2019 our firm through Attorney Louiza Tarassova, filed a putative class action lawsuit against the lead contractor on the I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project, Skanska-Granite-Lane, JV also known as SGL Constructors. The lawsuit sought to obtain class action status for property damage to homes located in the vicinity of the construction zone.
The I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project is a massive interstate highway “makeover” that covers 21 miles of the road in Central Florida. Defendant, Skanska-Granite-Lane is a Florida Joint Venture doing business as SGL Constructors is responsible for planning, executing and overseeing the I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project. Defendant’s construction activities include deep excavation, pile driving, boring, blasting, heavy traffic loads, dewatering produced by differential soil settlement and strong levels of vibration.
People living and working within the zone of construction have endured daily disturbances caused by strong vibrations, seismic activity, and loud noise at all hours of the day and night from heavy construction machinery used by the SGL Constructors and its sub-contractors. Their homes and businesses have been damaged and they have suffered daily physical and emotional discomfort from the construction company’s hazardous construction activities.
The lawsuit against the lead contractor, SGL Constructors, was initiated by a single plaintiff, whose home is located near the construction zone in Winter Park. But, since the filing of the initial Complaint in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Orange County, Florida an additional eleven plaintiffs have joined the lawsuit. All plaintiffs are seeking compensation for damages suffered as the result of SGL Constructor’s construction activities. Read the most recent Complaint filed by our office on the case Class Action Complaint – I-4 Ultimate Construction Project.
On April 5, 2021, the court issued an order holding that each person that suffered damages because of the I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project must file individual lawsuits against SGL Constructors. The Court dismissed the class action allegations but allowed the named plaintiffs to pursue their individual claims against the contractor in the originally filed lawsuit.
In light of the court order, persons living in homes around the I-4 construction who have suffered property damage as the result of the construction activities must file their own lawsuits against SGL Constructors.