Mealey's Construction Defects
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November 01, 2021
Dispute Over Defects In 70-Unit Condo Complex Ends In Settlement
HARTFORD, Conn. — A plaintiff condominium association on Sept. 25 withdrew its complaint against a developer and others and on Oct. 19 asked a Connecticut court to enforce the terms of a settlement reached by the parties in August.
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November 01, 2021
Florida Panel Remands; Issue Of Material Fact Remains In Defective Stucco Suit
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals panel on Oct. 22 reversed and remanded a trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of a subcontractor in a case alleging faulty stucco work on townhomes, finding that a genuine issue of material fact remains regarding the start of the repose period under Florida’s statute of repose, which bars bringing construction defect claims 10 years after a triggering event because of a lack of “sufficient evidence to determine the contract completion date.”
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October 28, 2021
In Briefs, Homeowners And Contractor Square Off Over Arbitration Waiver
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A general contractor on Sept. 22. defended findings that two homeowners waived their right to arbitrate allegations of breach of contract and fraud stemming from a defective build because they unduly delayed filing their arbitration demand for five years.
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October 28, 2021
California Appeals Court Affirms Sanctions Against Builder For Unsigned Agreement
LOS ANGELES — A California appellate court on Oct. 18 ruled that sanctions awarded in a defects case against a construction company for refusing to timely sign a settlement agreement with homeowners were justified because the construction company agreed to the settlement before signing but denied the homeowners’ motion for sanctions regarding a frivolous appeal because the construction company did not have an improper motive or commit egregious actions.
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October 25, 2021
Over Objections, Final Settlement Approval Granted In Faulty PEX Piping Suit
SAN ANTONIO — A federal magistrate judge in Texas on Oct. 20 granted final approval of a $7.65 million class settlement in a faulty polyethylene (PEX) piping lawsuit brought by homeowners, overruling objections by a class member represented by counsel in a parallel class complaint who attempted in several ways to challenge the agreement, arguing that the settling class was unaware what relief the settlement would actually provide.
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October 22, 2021
Alabama Supreme Court Dismisses Builder’s Appeal As Based On Nonfinal Judgment
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A contractor’s counterclaims against a couple who prevailed on their contractual claim that agreed-upon renovations were never completed were revived by the Alabama Supreme Court on Sept. 30 when it determined that a trial court improperly invoked a state procedural rule to certify a ruling in the underlying lawsuit as final despite the existence of unresolved, intertwined claims and counterclaims.
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October 21, 2021
Jeld-Wen To Appeals Court: Uphold Dismissal Of Claims Over Rot
LAKE CHARLES, La. — In a recent appellee brief filed with the Third Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeal, Jeld-Wen Inc. defends a lower court’s decision to grant the window and door maker an exception of prescription in litigation filed by a Louisiana couple who purchased more than $60,000 in products that would go on to suffer from rot.
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October 21, 2021
Split Miss. High Court: Invalid Arbitration Forum Dooms Home Builder’s Agreement
JACKSON, Miss. — A contract between a home builder and the buyers with an arbitration forum that hadn’t existed in more than a decade was unenforceable, a split Mississippi Supreme Court ruled Sept. 30.
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October 20, 2021
Louisiana Panel Says Fact-Based Affidavit Wrongly Excluded
BATON ROUGE, La. — In an Oct. 18 unpublished holding, a Louisiana appeals court ruled that although an affidavit by the owner of a construction company accused of overseeing shoddy work by a subcontractor may be self-serving, “it contains specific underlying facts as to the scope of the work” and should have been considered by a trial court before granting the subcontractor summary judgment.
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October 18, 2021
Nevada Federal Judge: Merit Certification Required In Construction Defect Claim
RENO, Nev. — A Nevada federal judge on Oct. 13 granted an architectural firm’s motion to dismiss a complaint in a construction suit filed by a property owners’ company, finding that the complaint was void ab initio because the property owners’ company failed to attach a merit certification required under Nevada law in construction suits against certain professionals.
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October 18, 2021
Pennsylvania Superior Court Upholds $289,000 Jury Award Against Home Builder
HARRISBURG, Pa. — In an Oct. 13 nonprecedential holding, the Pennsylvania Superior Court left intact a jury’s verdict that a builder acted with negligence while constructing a home that later required $234,508 in repairs by a subsequent home buyer.
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October 15, 2021
Texas Appeals Court Says Arbitrability Reserved For Arbitrator Under Agreement
DALLAS — A Texas appellate court on Oct. 5 reversed a trial court’s order denying homeowners’ motion to compel arbitration with their construction company because the arbitration agreement incorporated the rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) by delegating questions of arbitrability to the arbitrator, not to the court.
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October 13, 2021
California Panel Upholds Discovery Order Against Condominium Owners
FRESNO, Calif. — Denying a petition for writ of mandate seeking relief from a discovery production order by the owners of a condominium complex accused of construction defects violations, a California appeals panel on Oct. 4 found that the petition was “wholly without merit” and was filed frivolously as a delay tactic, making sanctions appropriate.
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September 30, 2021
Homeowners’ Warranty Claims Against Piping Companies Survive; Other Claims Dismissed
CLEVELAND — Breach of express warranty claims and some claims for declaratory and injunctive relief survive against all defendants that manufactured or sold a plastic piping product that homeowners in a class action complaint allege failed prematurely and damaged their properties, but a federal judge in Ohio allowed other claims to survive only against certain defendants and dismissed the remainder of the claims in a Sept. 8 ruling on multiple motions to dismiss.
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September 29, 2021
Issues Of Material Fact Support Reversing Summary Judgment, Homeowners Claim
NEW CASTLE, Del. — Because construction companies knew that the two leaks in a couple’s home two years apart “were evidence of a more pervasive problem,” and the companies told the homeowners that the issue had been “investigated and fully repaired,” genuine issues of material fact remain about hidden construction defects, and a trial court erred in granting summary judgment to the construction companies, homeowners argue in a Sept. 2 reply brief to the Delaware Supreme Court.
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September 29, 2021
California Appellate Panel: Homeowners’ Claims Of Faulty Reservoir Filed Too Late
SAN DIEGO — California homeowners’ putative class claims accusing the developers of their neighborhood of constructing a reservoir that delivered “defective” water to their homes that damaged their plumbing and caused health problems failed to make any allegations of willful misconduct until after a developer argued that their claims were time-barred, a California appellate panel ruled Aug. 31 in an unpublished opinion, affirming a trial court’s summary judgment ruling.
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September 29, 2021
Condo Inspector, Others Object To Plaintiffs’ Subpoenas In Condo Collapse Suit
MIAMI — Objections to subpoenas filed in the consolidated class complaint brought by estates and residents of a Surfside, Fla., condominium high-rise that partially collapsed on June 24 were filed between Sept. 16 and 20 by the company hired to conduct a structural engineering analysis of the building several years prior to the collapse, a law firm and the general contractor of adjacent high-rise.
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September 29, 2021
Nevada High Court: Repose Period Clears Way For Fire Station Defects Case
CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court on Sept. 23 denied contractors’ petition for a writ of mandamus, affirming a trial court’s retroactive application of an amendment to a defects recovery statute extending the repose period from six to 10 years that allowed the city of North Las Vegas’ claims to be revived against the contractors in a construction defects case.
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September 28, 2021
Engineer Wants Review Of Texas Construction Defects Certificate Ruling
HOUSTON — An expert affidavit merely identifies potential issues in windstorm certification and its list of unrelated construction defects cannot form the basis of a negligence case, an engineering firm tells the Texas Supreme Court in urging review on Sept. 2 (Paul Engineering Inc. v. Sea Scout Base Galveston and Point Glass LLC, No. 21-0761, Texas Sup.).
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September 28, 2021
Letter To Class Motion Denied In Faulty Piping Suit With Settlement Pending
SAN ANTONIO — A federal magistrate judge in Texas on Sept. 9 denied a motion for leave to communicate with more than 400 class members in a faulty polyethylene (PEX) piping lawsuit where there is a preliminarily approved settlement; the motion was filed by the attorney in a parallel class complaint who argued that the class members are unaware of what relief the $7.65 million settlement will actually provide.