A Palm Beach County judge has ordered the developer of the long-delayed Mandarin Oriental residences in downtown Boca Raton to return roughly $2 million to a condo buyer, delivering the project’s first reported courtroom loss and a potential playbook for other frustrated purchasers.
Douglas and Debra Jacobs put down a $2 million deposit in 2022, expecting to close on their unit by the contract’s Dec. 31, 2025 completion deadline. When that date came and went without a closing, they sued. The judge’s ruling opens the door for similarly situated buyers to try to claw back their escrowed deposits.
As reported by The Real Deal, Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge James Sherman sided with the Jacobses, found them entitled to repayment, and said purchasers can seek payment directly from the title companies that are holding escrow deposits. The developer’s attorney, Robert Sweetable, told the outlet he plans to ask for a rehearing, pointing to a conflicting ruling in another case involving the project…