The sinking and stinking Millennium Tower can add to its list of litigious victims four-time Super Bowl champion 49ers quarterback Joe Montana. Montana not only bought one of the units at the Millennium Tower for $2.7 million in 2013, but was also contracted to promote the condo from 2010 to 2015 — a period during which he alleges that developer Millennium Partners had full knowledge that the condo was experience excessive "settlement," but concealed this information from buyers and residents.
TMZ originally broke the news Monday, though the suit was apparently filed on Thursday, May 4. Montana’s suit addresses that well-established fact the building has sunk 16 inches and has tilted by two inches, but also argues that the unit he and his wife bought is “off level and the fit and finish of the unit are in disrepair.”
This lawsuit is separate from the gigantic $500 million class action lawsuit residents brought against the developers in September. According to the Chronicle, Joe and Jennifer Montana are suing for “$2.7 million in reimbursement for buying the condo and $1 million for ‘consequential damages’ from marketing, among other compensation."
The lawsuit calls the Montanas' unit, 41C, "uninhabitable, unmarketable, and valueless."
CBS 5 reports that what makes the Montanas' suit different from others that have been filed is that because Montana was offered a deal to help promote the building, he could himself become a defendant in future lawsuits. As political reporter Melissa Caen points out, the lawsuit is a way for Montana to publicly say "I was duped just like everybody else."
Do we have an ‘emotional distress’ angle to this lawsuit? We do! NBC Bay Area dug up the court filing for Joseph Montana vs. Mission Street Development LLC, which claims the Montanas have suffered “serious and considerable emotional distress while residing in the Tower, and an absence of assurance regarding safety thereof, have caused them to fear for their safety while living in their home."
According to the LA Times, Montana also sold a one-bedroom unit in the tower to Giants right fielder Hunter Pence in 2014 for $1.65 million. Pence bought another larger unit in the building in late 2015, and the Montanas have apparently maintained their larger unit, and have previously tried to list it for $4 million, according to Curbed.
