Berish v. Bornstein, 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 530 (2006)

Citation: Berish v. Bornstein, 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 530 (2006)
Parent Document: Berish v. Bornstein, 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 530 (2006)
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date: 2006-05-22
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/8356288/berish-v-bornstein/ ↗

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The Trustees first became aware of the inadequate fire walls in 1987 as a result of a report completed at that time in anticipation of the first trial. In all the units that were inspected, it was determined that the fire separation wall failed to meet the Building Code standards for a number of reasons: failure to continue the wall to the underside of the roof sheathing or roof rafter; failure to use five-eighths-inch gypsum wallboard; and failure to provide blocking of five-eighths of an inch wallboard at second-floor ceiling joists and non-pro tective penetrations. The lack of proper installation of fire separation walls creates a serious safety risk to the unit owners. The Trustees’ expert credibly opined that the walls fell below industry standards and violated the Code because there were all kinds of gaps in the fire walls both in terms of joints between the sheet rock as well as a lack of fire stopping at both the top and the bottom of the walls. These are areas that would not be plainly visible even to one who had knowledge of the requirements of the Code. Except for the inspections made by Kaplan, all other attic areas containing the fire separation walls are not easily accessible or obvious to the unsuspecting unit owner. In addition, there was no way to make a determination as to the thickness of the wallboard unless there was destructive testing.

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