DC developer pays $400,000 to a condo association after losing its appeal
DC developer pays $400,000 to a condo association after losing its appeal
2026-09-09 · District of Columbia · Courts
A District of Columbia developer will pay $400,000 to a Ward 4 condominium association to reinforce a building that owners said swayed in the wind — after the Court of Appeals held the District could order it to fix a property it had already sold. The Attorney General announced the settlement on May 7, 2026.1
The building is 4022 Georgia Avenue NW. The paying parties are Steven Sushner, 4022 Georgia Avenue LLC and DV Investments, Inc. The money goes to the association, earmarked for “structural reinforcements and other repairs needed to ensure the safety of the unit owners and the community.” Owners also receive proceeds from 4022 LLC's bankruptcy.
What owners reported
Residents reported that high winds made the building move: cabinets swinging open, dishes breaking, and wall cracks increasing in number and width with each wind event. Inspections found the building had been constructed in violation of District regulations, with insufficient structural support. The Attorney General's office described a building that was marketed as safe and structurally sound and was “anything but.”
The appellate decision that made the settlement possible
The developer fought the order to correct through the Office of Administrative Hearings and then the Court of Appeals, and lost. 4022 Georgia Avenue, LLC v. D.C. Department of Buildings, No. 24-AA-0543, was argued May 15, 2025 and decided July 17, 2025. Chief Judge Blackburne-Rigsby wrote for a panel including Judge Shanker and Judge Crowell, sitting by designation.2
The developer's argument was that the agency could not direct an order to correct at an entity that no longer owned the property. The court disagreed, holding that the hearing officer did not err in finding 4022 LLC was the entity responsible for correcting the violations — and grounding that conclusion in the condominium warranty statute. District law, the court observed, requires sellers of condominiums to warrant against structural defects, and the finding “could have” been made “based on the language of Section 42-1903.16(b) alone.”
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