Mealey's Construction Defects : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Construction Defects

June 24, 2022
Federal Judge Dismisses Roofing Claims For Failing To Differentiate Defendants

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A roofing company’s amended complaint containing product liability, fraudulent concealment and other claims on June 10 was dismissed without prejudice as a shotgun pleading by a federal judge in Florida because the allegations did not distinguish between the actions of the manufacturer and the supplier named as defendants.
June 21, 2022
Texas Appellate Panel Conditionally Grants Mandamus In Construction Case

BEAUMONT, Texas — A Texas appellate panel on June 9 ruled that a trial court judge abused his discretion and a writ of mandamus will be issued if the judge does not vacate an order granting “death sentence” sanctions against two real estate developers after homebuyers argued that the developers abused the discovery process during a construction defects case.
June 20, 2022
Connecticut Judge Dismisses Construction Claims Pending In Separate Action

STAMFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut judge on May 31 granted a condominium owners association’s motion to dismiss allegations of water damage caused by defective foundation construction because the plaintiff’s claims were mostly identical and shared the same factual baseline to claims he brought in a previous action that had not yet reached final judgment.
June 20, 2022
California Homeowner Appeals Orders And Verdict In Construction Case

LOS ANGELES — A homeowner maintains in his May 5 reply brief in a California appellate court that a trial court erred in refusing to grant a motion for a new trial and failing to instruct the jury on res ipsa loquitor in an appeal of a judgment entered on a jury verdict in which he received nothing on defective construction claims brought against a general contractor, project manager and other various subcontractors.
June 16, 2022
9th Circuit: Homeowners Seeking To Certify Class In Defect Case May Appeal

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 27 granted a group of homeowners permission to appeal a federal judge’s ruling denying their motion to certify a class in a suit accusing construction supply manufacturers of selling defective foundational anchors and ties in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and breach of express warranty.
June 16, 2022
Allocation Agreement Altered; Final Approval Of $1B Condo Collapse Pact Sought

MIAMI — A Florida judge on June 13 issued a supplemental order approving a previously announced increase of the allocation settlement agreement for unit owners suing over the June 2021 partial collapse of Champlain Towers South (CTS) in Surfside, Fla., and granted a request by the receiver for an extension of the deadline to submit the proposed form escrow agreement due to a “dispute” between one group of settling defendants and its insurers.
June 02, 2022
Builder Seeks New Trial Following $12.9M Jury Verdict In Delaware Defects Suit

GEORGETOWN, Del. — A builder that was found liable by a Delaware jury for $12.9 million in damages to a condominium association and its owners resulting from the builder’s negligence filed a motion for a new trial or remittitur on May 20 and a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law on May 24.
June 02, 2022
Arizona High Court: No Foreseeable Duty For Design Professionals Without Privity

PHOENIX — A unanimous Arizona Supreme Court on May 23 held that design professionals without privity of contract owed no duty based on foreseeability to project owners for purely economic damages, repudiating the high court’s decision in Donnelly Construction Company v. Oberg/Hunt/Gilleland, in a case where a subcontractor mistakenly placed construction stakes for a developer who planned to build a banquet and concert hall.
June 02, 2022
Tennessee Panel: Unilateral Warranty Cannot Compel Homebuyers To Arbitrate

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Court of Appeals on May 24 affirmed a trial court’s ruling that an arbitration provision is unenforceable because the provision was unilaterally prepared by a third-party contractor months after the homebuyers discovered construction defects in their newly built townhome.
June 02, 2022
Federal Judge Refuses To Enjoin Contractor In Parallel Lawsuits

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on May 23 denied a general contractor’s motion to dismiss or abstain from hearing a case by a subcontractor alleging defective construction and denied the subcontractor’s motion to enjoin the general contractor from pursing parallel litigation in a federal court in Maryland.
June 02, 2022
Suit Against General Contractor Alleges Defective Workmanship On Tulsa Shopping Center

TULSA, Okla. — The lessor of a shopping center filed a second amended complaint against a construction company in federal court in Oklahoma on April 29 for breach of warranty, negligence and negligence per se for defective workmanship and conditions related to masonry and stone veneer work performed by a subcontractor.
June 02, 2022
More Than $1B Champlain Towers Collapse Class Settlement Preliminarily Approved

MIAMI — A Florida judge on May 28 preliminarily approved a class settlement of more than $1 billion in the consolidated putative class complaint filed by unit owners and estates of those who died in the June 2021 partial collapse of Champlain Towers South (CTS) in Surfside, Fla.
June 01, 2022
8th Circuit Orders Confirmation Of Arbitration Award In Steel Dispute

ST. LOUIS — A trial court judge erred in vacating the attorney fees and costs portion of an arbitrator’s award for a bridge contractor in a dispute with a steel manufacturer, an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled May 23, vacating the judgment and remanding with instructions to confirm the arbitrator’s award in full after determining that the arbitrator “at least arguably construed” the terms of the contract between the parties when opining that fees and costs were owed.
May 31, 2022
Maryland Panel Affirms Zero Damages For Leaking Roof Claim After Default Judgment

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland appellate court on May 18 affirmed a trial court’s decision to award the owner of a production plant zero damages on a default judgment because it produced no photographic or documentary evidence of the amount of damages caused by a contractor who was hired to fix the plant’s roof.
May 27, 2022
U.S. Plywood Certification Agency Ordered To Revoke Brazil Mill Certificates

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A U.S. certification agency charged with ensuring that imported plywood complies with American standards must revoke all PS 1 certificate and grade stamps issued to plywood mills in southern Brazil and remove all revoked certificates from its website within seven days, a federal judge in Florida ruled May 24 in a permanent injunction and entry of a stipulated final judgment.
May 26, 2022
Homeowners Argue Against Mold Case Arbitration Dispute Review By Texas High Court

AUSTIN, Texas — A developer’s claim that its petition to the Texas Supreme Court presents questions of first impression concerning arbitration under direct benefit estoppel as applied to subsequent homeowners is false, two homeowners allege in their May 18 response, arguing that the issues in their lawsuit alleging “unacceptable levels of moisture” and mold growth in their home “are simple matters for which [the high court] long ago provided clear standards that rationally apply to all non-signatories to arbitration.”
May 25, 2022
Settlement Announced For Appellate Claims In Improper Design Case

HOUSTON — An architecture firm and the owner of a senior community on May 13 filed a joint motion to dismiss an appeal after reaching a confidential settlement agreement for claims related to the appeal in a construction defect case where a Texas appellate court affirmed the denial of the firm’s motion to dismiss hurricane-related water damages claims, finding that the plaintiff’s certificate of merit prepared by a licensed emeritus architect met statutory licensure requirements.
May 25, 2022
Delaware Judge: Home Buyer Knew Of Stucco Defects More Than 3 Years Before Suit

NEW CASTLE, Del. — A Delaware judge on May 12 dismissed claims of defective stucco and caulking brought by a home buyer against the previous owner and developers. The judge found that the home buyer had inquiry notice of the defects more than three years before he filed suit, making his claims time-barred by the statute of limitations, which was not tolled by the discovery rule or fraudulent concealment.
May 24, 2022
Washington Panel Affirms Setting Aside Of Default Judgment Against Subcontractor

TACOMA, Wash. — A Washington appeals court on May 10 held that a trial court did not abuse its discretion in setting aside a default judgment against a subcontractor or refusing to impose sanctions after the subcontractor said it failed to appear in a construction defects case because of complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 24, 2022
Allocation For Unit Owners In Florida Condo Collapse Suit Increased To $96 Million

MIAMI — A Florida judge during a May 24 hearing in the consolidated putative class complaint over the June 2021 partial collapse of a Florida condominium tower agreed to increase a previously approved $83 million allocation settlement for unit owners to $96 million after attorneys representing the wrongful death track in the case reached what the judge called an “unexpected” settlement for those plaintiffs with wrongful death claims, but warned that the amount would not be increased again.
May 23, 2022
Jury Returns Split Verdict For Homeowners, Builder On Contract, IFCA Claims

CHICAGO — After a four-day trial, a federal jury in Illinois on May 9 found that a homebuilder breached its sales agreement by installing improper floor framing and awarded the homeowners $105,750. The jury found in favor of the builder on the homeowners’ claim that it violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act (ICFA) by installing wood veneer cabinets rather than cabinets made from solid wood.
May 20, 2022
Federal Judge Dismisses And Upholds Flooring Claims Against Home Depot

TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida on May 7 dismissed Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practice Act (FDUTPA) claims, negligence claims and warranty claims in a putative class complaint brought against Home Depot U.S.A. Inc. and breach of contract claims brought against one of its installers while upholding other claims brought by a customer for alleged improper installation of flooring.
May 19, 2022
Tennessee Panel Vacates Dismissal Over Trial Court’s Statute Of Limitations Errors

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee appellate court on May 4 remanded breach of contract and breach of warranty claims brought by homeowners against a builder after finding that the trial court erred in dismissing the claims when it applied a three-year statute of limitations to the entire complaint instead of determining the applicable statute for each individual claim and failed to toll the statute of limitations for injury to real property claims based on fraudulent concealment, which were also remanded.
May 17, 2022
Stay Of Claims Against Settling Defendants Sought In Condo Tower Collapse Suit

MIAMI — One day after a more than $997 million settlement was announced in a putative consolidated class complaint over the June 2021 partial collapse of a Florida condominium tower, Champlain Towers South (CTS), the court-appointed receiver and the putative class plaintiffs on May 12 filed a joint motion in a Florida court to stay the claims against the settling defendants.
May 16, 2022
Reply Briefs In Retaining Wall Appeal Challenge Multiple Trial Court Rulings

RALEIGH, N.C. — In a multifaceted appeal, a North Carolina school board that sued several parties alleging faulty construction of a new high school’s retaining walls around its athletic complex, as well as two of the four defendants, filed reply briefs on April 8 and April 11 in a North Carolina appellate court challenging several rulings by the trial court.