$356 Million Judgement Against Developer for Defective Construction of DC Condominium
On July 31, 2026, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia entered a $356,085,513.00 judgment against developers JBG Smith for defective construction and renovation of the Wardman Tower Residential Condominium in Washington, D.C. The case is Wardman Tower Residential Condominium Unit Owners Association v. JBG Smith Properties, et al., No. 2020 CA 004807 B (D.C. Super. Ct.). In a 148-page Trial Order, the D.C. Superior Court awarded $118,695,171.00 in damages in favor of the condominium association and against the condominium developers, including JBG Smith. The Court trebled those damages pursuant to the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act (“CPPA”) to reach an ultimate judgment of $356,085,513.00. See Cowie Law Group: DC Condominium Construction Defects: Recovering Attorney’s Fees, Litigation Expenses & Treble Damages Under the Consumer Protection Procedures Act.
Cowie Law Group, P.C. filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Association in 2020. The firm represented the Association throughout years of pretrial discovery and ultimately served as trial counsel with Williams & Connolly LLP during a lengthy bench trial before the Honorable Yvonne Williams. The Cowie Law Group team included attorneys, George A. Bealefeld, III, Albert G. McCarraher, Stanford L. Kimmel, III and Nicholas D. Cowie.
The Court found the condominium developers responsible for numerous construction and renovation defects affecting the condominium’s major building systems. The Court also found that the condominium developers made material misrepresentations and omissions concerning the condominium’s nature, quality, condition, and useful life in connection with offering condomium units for sale to prospective purchasers. The Court held the developers liable for negligent construction and renovation, breach of the statutory warranty against structural defects under the District of Columbia Condominium Act, negligent misrepresentation, violation of the CPPA, and breach of fiduciary duties owed while in control of the condominium’s executive board of directors.
The D.C. Superior Court’s Trial Order addresses many of the legal issues facing Washington DC condominiums in cases of construction defects and misrepresentations in the sale of newly constructed and converted condominiums. See Cowie Law Group Article Resolving Condominium Construction Defect Claims in Washington DC.
In reaching its decision, the D.C. Superior Court relied on the Maryland case of Milton Co. v. Council of Unit Owners of Bentley Place Condo., a condominium construction defect case in which Nicholas D. Cowie, of Cowie Law Group, P.C., represented the condominium association and served as trial counsel. In the Milton case, a jury awarded $6.6 Million in damages plus attorney’s fees under Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act. See Cowie Law Group Article. Maryland Court Awards Condominium $6.6 Million For Construction Defects And $500,000 In Attorney Fees.
Cowie Law Group, P.C., is known for handling condominium and HOA construction defect cases in Maryland and the District of Columbia and the Trial Order addresses many significant condominium construction defect litigation issues and defenses the firm regularly argues before the courts of Maryland and the District of Columbia.
CLICK HERE to view the entire 148-page, July 31, 2026 Trial Order awarding $356,085,513.00 in favor of the Wardman Tower Residential Condominium and against the condominium developer defendants, including JBG Smith, in the case entitledWardman Tower Residential Condominium Unit Owners Association v. JBG Smith Properties, et al., No. 2020 CA 004807 B (D.C. Super. Ct.).