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Mealey's Construction Defects

  • May 07, 2024

    Texas High Court: Homeowners Can’t Get Exemplary Damages Without Jury Unanimity

    AUSTIN, Texas — Eleven homeowners whose property was damaged by the negligent construction of a drainage pipeline through their neighborhood are not entitled to exemplary damages because the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on the issue, the Texas Supreme Court found in reversing an appellate court’s judgment.

  • May 07, 2024

    Limited Damages Renders Expert Testimony On Chinese Drywall Irrelevant, Judge Says

    TAMPA, Fla. — A woman who says her former home was damaged by defectively manufactured Chinese drywall cannot introduce evidence about the estimated cost to repair the home because the damages sought are not available under the economic loss rule, a Florida federal judge found in mostly granting the drywall manufacturer’s motion to exclude expert testimony.

  • May 07, 2024

    Idaho Law Precludes Homeowner From Bringing Claims Against Insurer In Roofing Row

    POCATELLO, Idaho — Warranty claims brought by a homeowner against an insurer and a roofing company that allegedly failed to repair a roof are barred against the insurer because insurers may not be sued under Idaho law absent a contractual or statutory provision authorizing an action, an Idaho federal judge found in granting the insurers’ motion to dismiss.

  • May 06, 2024

    Colorado Legislative Committee Votes To Indefinitely Postpone Construction Defects Bill

    DENVER — The Colorado General Assembly’s House Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee on May 3 voted to indefinitely postpone a bill that would have changed construction defects litigation in the state by creating a new right for builders to remedy faulty construction.

  • May 03, 2024

    Faulty Shingles Dispute Terminated Following Parties’ Notice Of Settlement

    KANSAS CITY, Kan. — After receiving notice of settlement from a group of property owners and roofing manufacturer, a Kansas federal judge ordered a dispute over the company’s allegedly faulty shingles to be administratively terminated.

  • May 02, 2024

    Architect Cannot Recover Contribution From New York Town In Construction Dispute

    ROCHESTER, N.Y. — An architect that was sued for providing construction plans that failed to comply with the building codes of Penfield, N.Y, cannot seek contribution from the town even though it failed to identify the noncompliant wood trusses in the construction because it is immune from liability under the government function immunity defense, a New York justice found in granting Penfield’s motion for summary judgment on the architect’s cross-claim.

  • May 01, 2024

    Statute Of Frauds Bars Homeowner’s HVAC Warranty Claims, Indiana Panel Says

    INDIANAPOLIS — A homeowner is not entitled to bring a claim for breach of express warranty against a man who installed heating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment in the home but refused to repair it several years later because the statute of frauds applies to the alleged warranty, which was not committed to writing, an Indiana panel found in affirming a trial court’s judgment.

  • May 01, 2024

    California Federal Judge Grants Default Judgment In Luxury Home Construction Case

    LOS ANGELES — Two homeowners who allege that their new luxury home suffers from construction defects are entitled to default judgment against the builder of the home because it failed to make an appearance in the case and the relevant discretionary factors support granting default judgment, a California judge found in partly granting the homeowner’s application for default judgment.

  • April 30, 2024

    Illinois Panel: Homeowner Waived Construction Claims By Not Giving Written Notice

    CHICAGO — A homeowner who claimed that the residential and commercial units she purchased in a condominium building suffered from construction defects waived any such claim because she failed to comply with the limited warranty agreement she signed by not providing written notice of the alleged defects to the developer of the building within one year of purchasing the units, an Illinois panel found in affirming a trial court’s judgment.

  • April 25, 2024

    Pa. Panel: Fact Issues About Contract Surround Failed Retaining Wall Dispute

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — A trial court erred in granting judgment on the pleadings in a dispute over the construction of retaining wall that failed at a life plan community because there are questions of fact about which contract governs the agreement between the operator of the community and the builder, a Pennsylvania panel found in partly reversing the trial court’s judgment.

  • April 24, 2024

    N.Y. Justice: Unclear If Developer Is Liable For Water Damage At Condo Building

    NEW YORK — The owner of a condominium building in New York City that suffered water damage from a burst pipe is not entitled to partial summary judgment on the issue of whether the developer of the building is liable under the development contract signed by the two parties because the terms of the contract are ambiguous, a New York justice found in denying the owner’s motion for partial summary judgment.

  • April 23, 2024

    Minnesota Appeals Court Affirms Judgment In Construction Defects Case

    ST. PAUL, Minn. — A trial court did not err in offsetting a damages award granted to a homebuilder for counterclaims brought against it for defectively building a home because the builder properly perfected its mechanic’s lien on the property, a Minnesota panel found in affirming the trial court’s judgment.

  • April 22, 2024

    Unsigned Settlement Did Not Resolve Construction Claims, New Jersey Panel Says

    TRENTON, N.J. — A trial court erred in granting a motion to enter a settlement filed by a builder, which allegedly failed to properly construct a home, and one of its agents because the settlement agreement was unsigned, a New Jersey appellate court panel found in reversing and remanding the trial court’s opinion.

  • April 18, 2024

    Mississippi Federal Judge Dismisses Some Claims In Chinese Drywall Dispute

    JACKSON, Miss. — Homeowners who allege that a home they previously owned was damaged by defectively manufactured Chinese drywall are not entitled to damages arising from costs incurred to remediate the home because those claims travel with the property at issue, a Mississippi federal judge found in granting the manufacturers’ partial motion for summary judgment.

  • April 17, 2024

    North Dakota Federal Judge Transfers Claims In Defective Church Construction Action

    BISMARCK, N.D. — Third-party construction defects claims brought against a subcontractor that allegedly contributed to the defective construction of a church should be transferred to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska based on a forum selection clause within the subcontract because the public interest factors do not warrant upending the parties’ selected forum, a North Dakota federal judge found in granting the subcontractor’s motion to transfer on April 16.

  • April 16, 2024

    In Office Construction Row, Kansas Panel Affirms Jury’s Damages Award

    TOPEKA, Kan. — The owner of a building that suffered from alleged construction defects that caused water intrusion presented enough evidence at trial to support the jury’s damages award regarding loss of rental income against a construction consultant that failed to resolve the water intrusion problems, a Kansas panel found in affirming the jury’s verdict.

  • April 15, 2024

    Oklahoma High Court: Trial Court Failed To Explain Fee Award In Roofing Dispute

    OKLAHOMA CITY — In a decade-long dispute over an allegedly defective roofing repair, the Oklahoma Supreme Court found that the trial court erred in granting attorney fees to the defendant roofing company because it failed to adequately explain how it calculated the fee amount.

  • April 12, 2024

    Questions Of Fact Exist In Home Construction Dispute, Pa. Federal Judge Says

    PHILADELPHIA — Summary judgment is inappropriate at this stage because genuine issues of material fact surround claims brought by a homeowning couple against a builder arising from the allegedly defective construction of a new home, a Pennsylvania federal judge found in denying both parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment.

  • April 08, 2024

    Texas High Court: No Evidence That Arbitrating Construction Case Would Be Costly

    AUSTIN, Texas — An appellate panel erred in finding that an arbitration provision in a home construction contract was unconscionable because the homeowner failed to present evidence that arbitrating a dispute over an allegedly defective garbage disposal would be prohibitively costly, the Texas Supreme Court found April 5 in reversing the panel’s decision and remanding for further proceedings.

  • April 04, 2024

    In Faulty Roofing Dispute, Kansas Federal Judge Rules On 2 Motions

    KANSAS CITY, Kan. — In two separate orders filed the same day, a Kansas federal judge partly granted a motion for summary judgment and denied a motion for class certification in a dispute brought by a group of property owners against a roofing manufacturer over the company’s allegedly faulty shingles.

  • March 27, 2024

    Stucco Company Is Liable For Damages Caused By Predecessor, Connecticut Judge Rules

    MERIDEN, Conn. — A stucco company is liable for an outstanding judgment entered against its predecessor-in-interest for defective work performed on a construction project because the company is essentially a continuation of its predecessor, a Connecticut judge found in entering judgment against the company.

  • March 25, 2024

    Connecticut Judge Says Water Intrusion Claims Are Barred By Statutes Of Limitations

    STAMFORD, Conn. — In mostly granting a motion for summary judgment filed by a general contractor that allegedly performed defective masonry rehabilitation work on a condominium building, a Connecticut judge found that the various claims raised by the building’s homeowners association are time-barred by the statutes of limitations and repose because they were filed more than 10 years after the work was completed.

  • March 21, 2024

    In Construction Dispute, Pennsylvania Federal Judge Dismisses Third-Party Claims

    PHILADELPHIA — An engineering firm that was sued for its allegedly defective design of a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system in a large apartment building failed to sufficiently state third-party claims for contribution and indemnification against the general contractor that oversaw the building’s construction because the firm failed to support all elements of the claims with factual allegations, a Pennsylvania federal judge found in granting the contractor’s motion to dismiss without prejudice.

  • March 20, 2024

    Louisiana Federal Judge Dismisses Third-Party Claims In Manufactured Home Dispute

    SHREVEPORT, La. — After previously dismissing all claims arising from the alleged defective construction of a modular home brought by a homeowner against two companies, a Louisiana federal judge granted an unopposed motion to dismiss filed by a third-party defendant that was sued by one of the companies for allegedly manufacturing the home.

  • March 20, 2024

    Georgia Federal Judge: Developer Is Not Entitled To Amend Years After Deadline

    ATLANTA — A developer that originally filed claims for indemnity against a subcontractor for allegedly defective construction work more than nine years ago is not entitled to leave to amend its complaint in light of a Georgia Supreme Court ruling because allowing amendment at this stage would cause undue delay and prejudice to the subcontractor, a Georgia federal judge found in denying the developer’s motion for leave to amend.