Coastal Construction Group
5959 Blue Lagoon Drive, Suite 200
Miami, FL 33126

History & Operations

According to the Coastal website, the construction firm was founded by Chairman and CEO Thomas P. Murphy, Jr. along with his brother, John.  The first of the Coastal companies was incorporated in the state of Florida October 1988.  Soon after, the company divided into four divisions or subsidiaries operating under the Coastal banner:

• Coastal Construction Company
• Coastal  Condominiums
• Coastal Interiors
• Coastal Homes

While Coastal has specialized in upscale condominium, hotel, and residential construction projects, the firm also takes on other commercial, industrial, and public works construction jobs.  In fact, amidst the downturn in the south Florida condo market has relied increasingly on other types of building projects.  A Southeast Construction article dated, February 1, 2008, stated:

Thomas P. Murphy Jr., says his firm began preparing for a downturn at the height of the condo boom. Having secured $1 billion of new business for 2008, Murphy says that of Coastal's 12 major Gold Coast projects scheduled to start in the first half of the year, "not one is a condo."

Among the clients Coastal cites are the county schools districts of Dade, Palm Beach, and Monroe, as well as the University of Miami.

About Tom Murphy

Did you know…

• Coastal owner Tom Murphy sits on the board of directors for Interval Leisure Group, a publicly traded company. Interval Leisure caters to the vacationer market, specializing in facilitating “shared ownership” (also known as timeshares) of vacation properties. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings for ILG are available HERE.
• Mr. Murphy has also established a number of other corporate entities – including Briland Holdings, LLC and Cocktails Leasing Company, LLC – to hold various pieces of real estate and other assets.

More on Mr. Murphy’s side ventures coming soon…

Subsidiaries and Affiliates

Coastal Construction Group conducts business under various iterations of its base name, often depending on the type of project and location.  For instance, when operating in Palm Beach County, the company may use “Coastal Construction of Palm Beach, Inc.”  As shown in the chart below certain companies have a common Federal Employee Identification Numbers (FEIN).  Five different companies share the FEIN 650802683.  An FEIN is a company identifier used for federal tax purposes, similar to a social security number for individuals.  So if Florida corporate records are accurate the five different “Coastal Construction” companies sharing the same FEIN pay federal taxes as one company.

List of Affiliated Companies

Coastal Construction Group also uses a number of fictitious business names, including the following:

• Coastal Construction Company • Coastal Construction Group • Coastal Construction of Miami-Dade                            • Coastal Construction of Palm Beach • Coastal Homes • Coastal Interiors

Recent Coastal–General Crane Projects
Below are Coastal projects that have utilized General Crane equipment

St. Regis Bal Harbor
9701 Collins Avenue
Bal Harbour, Florida

The three-tower luxury condominium and resort facility is scheduled to be completed in 2010.  The property owner, Starwood Resorts & Hotels, hired Coastal as the general contractor.

Foreign Worker Controversy: in early 2009 the project attracted unwanted attention when a local CBS TV affiliate ran a feature on a Mexican HVAC subcontractor named CYVSA importing foreign laborers into the U.S. using an H2-B Visa to work on the St. Regis job.  H2-B Visas are supposed to be issued to seasonal workers when no America workers are available.  At that time, however, hundreds of qualified American sheet metal workers in south Florida were unemployed and ready to work.  The American workers sent complaints to the U.S. Labor Department and protested at the jobsite.

Heritage Park and Parking Garage
190th & Collins Ave
Sunny Isles, Florida

The owner of the property is the City of Sunny Isles Beach, which retained Coastal Construction as the General Contractor for the project.  Sunny Isles’ contact person for the job is city manager Christopher J. Russo.

Coastal OSHA & Safety

OSHA Inspection Reports
*Full copies of the reports will be available shortly*

Click on the link for more details

Worker Injuries

According to the Florida Division of Workers Compensation “Loss Run” Database, the following claims have been filed against Coastal Construction and its affiliated companies since 1999 (claimant names have not been reproduced in this table):

Loans and Finances

Colonial Bank Loan – Coastal Construction Group of South Florida, Inc., along with co-debtor Coastal Homes of South Florida, Inc., took out a loan from Colonial Bank, N.A. of Montgomery, Alabama in the mid-2000s.  The parties registered a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filing with the state of Florida on September 20, 2006.  The filing is set to expire on September 20, 2011.

The collateral cited in the UCC filing – all assets of Coastal Construction of South Florida – suggests that Colonial Bank was the principal financer for Coastal’s operations.

On August 14, 2009, however, federal regulators shut down Colonial Bank, naming the institution a “Failed Bank”  BB&T Bank acquired Colonial’s assets.  Colonial bank branches are now operating as a subsidiary to BB&T.

Read more about the bank failing HERE.

Click on the link for a copy of the Colonial Bank–Coastal Construction UCC filing.

Litigation

Below is a compilation of public litigation records involving Coastal Construction and its affiliated companies.  Please check with the applicable court for any further developments on the case.  Click on the case title (in red) for additional information.

Federal Cases

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida (Miami)

Wendy Lee Hobbie et al v. Coastal Condominiums of Palm Beach, Inc. et al

Filing Date: 2/26/2010
Case Type: 385 Property Damage Product Liability
Status: Pending

Residents at the Villa Lago at Residence Commons condominium complex originally filed a class action complaint against companies responsible for constructing and selling the condo development, including Coastal Condominiums of Palm Beach, Inc. The complaint alleges that Coastal Condominiums built the development between 2005 and 2007. Upon inspection, the plaintiffs determined that the condo was built with drywall manufactured in China, which was installed by a company called Precision Drywall, Inc. The plaintiffs alleged that the substances emitted from the drywall are “extremely hazardous” and known to cause “serious health problems,” such as heart disease, brain damage, and respiratory problems. The complaint further asserts that residents at the condo facility have already suffered a “variety of physical symptoms,” such as headaches, rashes, and respiratory problems. Lastly, the plaintiffs claim that gases emitted by the Chinese drywall is known to corrode metals, and thus “the corrosion to the electrical and other metals creates a fire hazard.”

Coastal Construction of South Florida, Inc. v. Lexington Insurance Company

Filing Date: 5/15/2009
Case Type: 110 Insurance
Status: Dismissed without Prejudice

Plaintiff Coastal Construction alleges that in June 2004 Coastal, as general contractor for a condo project in Miami, retained All Fire Services, Inc. to provide the fire protection system for the facility.  Coastal purchased an “excess liability insurance policy” from defendant Lexington.  In April 2006 a fire sprinkler pipe burst, followed by 60 other pipe failures, causing “considerable damage.”    Coastal claims that it repaired all damage at its own expense – estimated at more than $5,000,000 in damages.  The plaintiff is alleging a breach of contract against Lexington because the insurer has wrongly “denied or limited coverage available.”  Coastal is claiming in over $4,000,000 in “unreimbursed damages.”

Coastal Construction of South Florida, Inc. v. Admiral Insurance Company

Filing Date: 7/18/2007
Case Type: 110 Insurance
Status: Judgment in Favor of Defendant (Admiral)

The suit, originally filed in Miami-Dade County, was removed to the U.S. District court because it was a civil action between citizens of different states and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.  The original cause for action stems from the April 2006 fire sprinkler accident that plaintiff Coastal Construction blames on subcontractor All Fire Services, Inc.  At the time of the complaint, Coastal alleged over $500,000 in construction defects.  All Fire Services took out an insurance policy with Admiral covering the time period when the sprinkler system damage occurred.  Coastal Construction alleged that Admiral was in breach of contract for failing and/or refusing to provide coverage for the sprinkler damage.

Conart, Inc. v. Coastal Construction of Monroe, Inc.

Filing Date: 10/25/2004
Case Type: 190 Contract: Other
Status: Dismissed without Prejudice

Cause of action arose out of a contract dispute between Conart (plaintiff) and Coastal Construction (defendant) involving construction work performed on a University of Miami School of Business expansion project.  According to Conart, it entered into a subcontract with Coastal in June 2002.  Conart alleges that due to errors made by other parties on the job Conart was forced to “start late, demobilize, remobilize, [and] re-do erroneous work done by other traders.”  As a result Conart incurred excess costs of nearly $130,000.  As of the date of the complaint, Coastal had refused to pay over $115,000.

State Cases: 2009-2010
*Case filings and analysis for certain lawsuits will be available shortly*

*Click Here for More Coastal Construction Lawsuits, 2004-2008*

Pension/Benefits
*Click on the year to download the 401K plan’s annual report*