Mealey's Construction Defects
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January 20, 2022
Request For Expedited Appeal Of $7.65M Faulty PEX Piping Settlement Denied
NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals judge on Jan. 3 denied a request by an objector to a $7.65 million class settlement in a faulty polyethylene (PEX) piping lawsuit to expedite his appeal; the objector is represented by counsel in a parallel class complaint that attempted to challenge the settlement agreement.
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January 20, 2022
Condo Collapse Plaintiffs Say Association’s Counsel Guilty Of Gross Negligence
MIAMI — In a Jan. 6 response opposing a motion to dismiss, the plaintiffs in a consolidated putative class complaint filed in a Florida court after a Surfside, Fla., condominium high-rise partially collapsed June 24, 2021, say the law firm representing the building’s condo association “is liable . . . for gross negligence, due to its conscious disregard for their life and safety.”
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January 19, 2022
Texas Panel Grants Mandamus, Says Construction Defects Suit Covers Real Property
SAN ANTONIO — A Texas appellate court on Dec. 15 granted a petition for a writ of mandamus filed by home builders in a construction defects suit and ordered the trial court to vacate its order denying the home builders’ motion to transfer venue to the county where the home is located after finding that the homeowners’ suit to recover damages does not involve a title dispute but instead seeks monetary recovery for real property damage.
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January 14, 2022
Rehearing Denied In Suit Issuing Sanctions Against Builder For Unsigned Agreement
LOS ANGELES — A California appellate court on Nov. 15 denied a construction company’s petition for rehearing and issued a remittitur on Dec. 30 after ruling that sanctions awarded in a defects case against the construction company for refusing to timely sign a settlement agreement with homeowners were justified.
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January 14, 2022
Judge Denied Reconsideration Of Attorney Fees Denial In Damaged Fireproofing Suit
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Less than three weeks after a California federal judge issued an order denying reconsideration of the denial of a building contractor’s request for attorney fees, finding that the contractor was barred from raising a new argument on reconsideration, the contractor on Dec. 28 appealed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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January 10, 2022
Certiorari Sought By Attorneys Seeking Shared Fees Review Denied By High Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 10 declined to review an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling requiring attorneys who negotiated private settlements in fractured multidistrict litigation against Chinese drywall manufacturers to give 45% of their fees to the global settlement class counsel as common benefit costs and fees.
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December 22, 2021
Federal Judge: Louisiana Law Governing Modular Homes Dooms Defect Claims
LAFAYETTE, La. — Because a Louisiana law provides exclusive remedies and warranties for defects in new manufactured and modular homes, a federal judge in Louisiana on Dec. 8 granted summary judgment in favor of a manufactured home builder, dismissing all state law construction defects claims made by a home buyer.
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December 22, 2021
South Carolina Supreme Court Issues 2 Opinions On Money Owed For Townhome Repairs
COLUMBIA, S.C. — In two separate opinions issued Dec. 8, the South Carolina Supreme Court rejected home builders’ claims that they were improperly denied directed verdicts in a lawsuit alleging faulty construction of the first phase of a townhome development, ruled on amalgamation and altered the calculation of damages, finding that errors were made.
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December 22, 2021
Ohio Judge Certifies Class In Construction Defects Suit Against Home Builder
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio trial court judge on Dec. 3 granted class certification to homeowners in a construction defects action alleging that improper home ventilation caused damage due to moisture, finding that the homeowners met the requirements for class certification in Ohio, including providing evidence showing a common injury to the entire class.
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December 22, 2021
Colo. Appeals Court: Joist Maker’s Duty Satisfied When Warranty Remedy Provided
DENVER — The economic loss rule barred buyers of engineered lumber joists from asserting tort claims based on alleged misrepresentations and failure to disclose a defect after the joists were voluntarily remediated due to odor complaints as the remedy specified in the manufacturer’s warranty was provided and the damages sought by the buyers were excluded in the warranty, a Colorado appellate panel ruled Dec. 2 in an opinion in which it also held that the trial court did not err in granting the joist maker’s motion for a directed verdict on warranty claims or in denying the buyers’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on their claim under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (CCPA.)
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December 21, 2021
Maryland Panel Remands In Homeowners’ Breach Of Contract Arbitration Dispute
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland appeals court on Dec. 9 reversed and remanded a lower court decision that granted summary judgment against homeowners in a breach of contract and fraud action against a general contractor related to home construction resulting in water intrusion, finding that the homeowners filing suit against the contractor did not constitute “substantial engagement in the judicial forum” and that, therefore, they waived their contractual right to arbitrate claims against the general contractor.
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December 21, 2021
Kansas Panel Affirms Statute Of Repose Ruling In Construction Defects Suit
TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas state appeals court on Dec. 10 affirmed summary judgment in a construction defect lawsuit, saying the certificate of occupancy did not trigger the statute of repose.
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December 20, 2021
California High Court Won’t Consider Application Of Cutoff For Latent Defect Claim
SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court on Dec. 15 denied a petition for review filed by homeowners who alleged that their groundwater was tainted by a nearby 25-million-gallon reservoir and argued that the state’s 10-year statute of repose should not apply where plaintiffs are unable to “inspect, discover and repair” latent defects.
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December 16, 2021
Texas Supreme Court Denies Review Of Construction Defect Certificate Ruling
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on Nov. 5 denied an engineering firm’s petition for review that asserted that the windstorm certification process cannot provide the basis for a negligence case related to construction defects in a $44 million construction project.
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December 14, 2021
Ohio Panel Upholds Stay, Clearing Path For Parties To Arbitrate Defects Row
CLEVELAND — In a Dec. 2 ruling, an Ohio appellate court said that it could find no abuse of discretion in a trial court’s decision to stay litigation over a defective fire suppression system pending arbitration without first deciding a separate declaratory judgment action regarding a related arbitration agreement.
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December 13, 2021
Federal Judge Denies Insurer’s Motion To Intervene In Construction Defects Suit
PORTLAND, Maine — A Maine federal judge on Nov. 29 denied a homeowners insurer’s motion to intervene as a subrogee in the homeowners’ suit against contractors and subcontractors related to faulty windows in the construction of a new home that resulted in water damage, finding that the insurer’s motion was untimely and the “lack of diligence in pursuing intervention makes it inequitable to permit” intervention after the parties voluntarily dismissed their claims.
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December 13, 2021
Plaintiffs Say 10-Year Cutoff For Latent Defect Claim Wrongly Applied
SAN FRANCISCO — In a Nov. 19 filing with the California Supreme Court, a group of homeowners who allege that their groundwater was tainted by a nearby 25-million-gallon reservoir say the state’s 10-year statute of repose should not apply where plaintiffs are unable to “inspect, discover and repair” latent defects.
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December 09, 2021
Deadline Extended For Response To Amended Complaint In Condo Collapse Suit
MIAMI — A Florida judge agreed on Dec. 3 to extend to Dec. 30 the deadline for responses to the consolidated second amended class complaint brought by estates and residents of a Surfside, Fla., condominium high-rise that partially collapsed on June 24 who partially allege that the construction of a neighboring building destabilized the foundation of the building that collapsed.
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December 09, 2021
Florida Panel Upholds Dismissal Of Defects Row In Favor Of Arbitration
MIAMI — The Third District Florida Court of Appeal on Dec. 1 summarily affirmed findings by a trial court that a complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief by a construction company cannot proceed, in view of existing arbitration with a property owner.
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December 08, 2021
Motion For Rehearing Denied By Florida Appellate Panel In Defective Stucco Suit
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals panel on Nov. 29 denied a subcontractor’s motion for rehearing or rehearing en banc filed after the panel determined Oct. 22 that a genuine issue of material fact remains regarding the start of the repose period because of incomplete evidence about the contract competition date in a case alleging faulty stucco work on townhomes.