Apartment managers settle over deck collapse that injured couple

A St. Louis County couple injured in a 2013 Memorial Day deck collapse settled claims against the apartment complex’s homeowners association, a condominium management company and the unit’s owner for a total of more than $1.4 million.

Michael and Mary Macharia sued the Sandalwood Creek Condominium Owners Association, Roy H. Smith Real Estate Co., which does business under the name Smith Management Group; and Mary Burns over a Wildwood deck collapse that sent the couple and two guests to the hospital.

Michael Macharia suffered a broken left ankle, while his wife had a non-displaced fracture of her vertebrae after falling from their rented second-floor unit onto a patio, plaintiff’s attorney Gary Burger said.

Burger called the evidence against the three defendants “incredibly damning,” with a subsequent county inspection showing code violations for dozens of other decks at Sandalwood Creek that were nailed instead of bolted to building walls.

The Macharias had conveyed their concerns about the deck’s stability multiple times before the collapse, with the owners assuring them of its safety and promising repairs that were never made, he said.

“Had the Macharias’ deck been bolted, it would not have collapsed,” Burger said.

Further, a 20-year condo association president who owned more than 50 rental units testified in a deposition that the decks were in “incredibly bad shape,” according to Burger.

And after the deck collapse, the homeowners association and its management company told residents in a letter that deck repairs and maintenance were the responsibility of tenants, distinguishing between “garden unit” condos it said were maintained by the association and excluding “town home units” such as the one where the Macharias lived.

“If Smith Management and  the [condo] association put as much effort into inspecting and maintaining the Macharias’ deck as they put into shifting the blame to the homeowners after the incident, then the Macharias’ deck would never have collapsed,” Burger said.

Attorneys for the three defendants did not respond to requests for comment.

The case was settled in mid-July, with Sandalwood Creek and Roy H. Smith Real Estate paying $1 million and Burns, thorough a revocable trust in her name, paying $435,000.

A suit against the same three defendants by the other two victims of the Macharia deck collapse was settled confidentially, according to Burger, who also represented that couple.

$1.435 million settlement

Premises liability

Breakdown: $1 million from Sandalwood Creek and Roy H. Smith, $435,000 from Mary Burns

Venue: St. Louis County Circuit Court

Case Number/Date: 13SL-CC02911/July 16, 2015

Judge: John D. Warner Jr.

Plaintiff Expert: Wes Wright, Semke Forensics, St. Louis (engineering)

Injuries: Michael Macharia broke left ankle; Mary Macharia had non-displaced fracture to vertebrae

Special Damages: $56,697 in paid medical expenses for both plaintiffs; $50,000 in lost wages for Mary Macharia: $200,000 in future lost wages for Mary Macharia; $19,543 in past lost wages for Michael Macharia;

Insurance: American Family Insurance (for Sandalwood Creek and Roy H. Smith); State Farm Insurance (for Burns)

Caption:  Michael and Mary Macharia v. Sandalwood Creek Condominium Owners Association, Roy H. Smith Real Estate Co. d/b/a Smith Management Group and Mary Burns

Plaintiffs’ Attorney: Gary Burger, Cantor & Burger, St. Louis

Defendants’ Attorneys:  Jon Sanner and Laurie Ann Loeschner, Brinker & Doyen, Clayton (for Smith Real Estate); David C. Berwin, Evans & Dixon, St. Louis (for Sandalwood Creek); Daniel Wilke and Kent Zschoche, Wilke & Wilke, St. Louis (for Burns)