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

Mealey's Construction Defects

October 21, 2022
Pa. Panel: Alleged Repairs Didn’t Toll Statute Of Repose For Construction Defects

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The statute of repose period started to run when a home’s certificate of occupancy was issued and was not tolled by a builder’s alleged inspections and repairs, a Pennsylvania appellate panel found in affirming a trial court’s dismissal as time-barred of construction defects claims filed by homeowners.
October 21, 2022
Connecticut Supreme Court Will Hear Defective Foundation Construction Claims

HARTFORD, Conn. — The Connecticut Supreme Court granted a petition for certification of appeal filed by the executors of the estates of two condominium owners who alleged that the foundations of their units were defectively constructed but will limit its review to which statute of limitations is applicable.
October 17, 2022
Federal Judge: Chinese Drywall Cases’ Florida Unfair Trade Practices Claims Barred

MIAMI — Claims by homeowners in more than a dozen related cases against Chinese drywall manufacturers alleging violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) are barred by Florida’s economic loss rule as the FDUTPA permits only “the recovery of economic losses,” recovery not permitted in a products liability case, a federal judge in Florida ruled in a supplemental order.
October 14, 2022
5th Circuit Rejects Objector’s Claim PEX Piping Class Settlement Is Underfunded

NEW ORLEANS — The sole objector to a $7.65 million class settlement in a lawsuit by homeowners who claimed that defective polyethylene (PEX) piping that could result in leaks and damage was used in their homes failed to show that the agreement between the homeowners and piping maker NIBCO Inc. was inadequate, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, affirming a trial court’s approval of the settlement.
October 14, 2022
Judge Approves Consent Motion In ADA Violation Suit Against Housing Authority

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge approved the U.S. Department of Justice’s motion for a $250,000 consent judgment in a suit filed against the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) and seven private developers alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) in building eight multiunit residential facilities.
October 14, 2022
Indiana Panel: Homeowners Pleaded Remedy, Not Cause Of Action For Deck Claims

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana appellate panel found that a trial court erred in applying the state’s product liability statute to a case in which homeowners sued three wood and chemical companies for allegedly treating their deck with toxic arsenic; however, the panel affirmed the trial court’s dismissal because the homeowners pleaded “equitable remediation,” which the panel found was not a valid cause of action.
October 06, 2022
Homeowner: Arbitrator’s Award Of Attorney Fees In Mold Case Did Not Ignore The Law

EDINBURG, Texas — In response to a motion for rehearing in a construction defects case stemming from the discovery of mold in a new home, the homeowners contend that an arbitrator’s award granting attorney fees in favor of the homeowners should not be vacated by the Texas appellate panel because there is no proof that the arbitrator chose to ignore the law.
October 06, 2022
Magistrate Announces Settlement, Orders Future Dismissal Of Defective Roofing Case

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — In a text entry order, a federal magistrate judge announced that a settlement had been reached ina lawsuit brought by property owners against a contractor they claim failed to properly repair the roof of a historic mill.
October 05, 2022
Roofing Contractor Says 4th Complaint Specifically Pleads Product Liability Claims

FORT MYERS, Fla. — In response to motions to dismiss brought by a roofing manufacturer and its supplier, a roofing contractor says it has pleaded its products liability, fraudulent concealment and failure to warn claims with specificity, that it has diligently complied with the court’s previous orders and that its fourth amended complaint cures all the deficiencies of its prior complaint, which was dismissed as shotgun pleading by a federal judge in Florida for failing to differentiate causes of actions between the defendants.
October 04, 2022
Homeowners’ Estates Petition Connecticut High Court To Hear Condo Foundation Suits

HARTFORD, Conn. — The executors of the estates of the owners of two condominiums who alleged that the foundations of the units were defectively constructed petitioned the Connecticut Supreme Court arguing that an appeals court’s holding that the condominium association was not responsible for damages to the two condominiums’ foundations as uninsured common elements was erroneous and presents an issue that has not been decided by the high court.
October 04, 2022
South Carolina High Court: Homebuilders’ Arbitration Provisions Unconscionable

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court, citing public policy concerns, declined to sever unconscionable arbitration provisions from contracts for the sale of newly built homes and found that the “one-sided” contracts were unconscionable.
October 04, 2022
U.S. Government Settles ADA Violation Suit Against Housing Authority For $250,000

NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Department of Justice on Oct. 3 announced that the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) and seven private developers agreed to a $250,000 settlement in a Louisiana federal court suit filed against HANO and the builders, alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) in building eight multi-unit residential facilities.
October 04, 2022
Supreme Court Denies Del. Homeowner’s Petition To Review Construction Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 3 denied a Delaware homeowner’s petition for writ of certiorari seeking clarification of the meaning of default judgment from a Delaware Supreme Court decision in which the third of his four cases alleging defective construction of his new home brought against the same defendant homebuilders was denied for his failure to appeal or arbitrate his claims.
September 30, 2022
Care Homes’ Architect Agrees To $450,000 Settlement In ADA Violation Suit

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — In a Sept. 29 minute docket entry, a Pennsylvania federal judge held a telephone status conference one day after issuing a consent order approving a $450,000 settlement that includes an architectural firm depositing $350,000 in a retrofit fund, in a suit brought by the U.S. government against the owners of senior homes and the architects who designed them, alleging failure to meet the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
September 30, 2022
Split Ariz. High Court: No Waiving Implied Workmanship, Habitability Warranty

PHOENIX — Public policy bars the enforcement of any waiver of an implied warranty of workmanship and habitability in any contract in Arizona entered into between a builder-vendor and a homebuyer, a divided Arizona Supreme Court ruled.
September 29, 2022
Misrepresentation Claims Against Stucco Sales Agent Survive Dismissal Motion

MOBILE, Ala. — A homeowner and general contractor may proceed with claims for negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation and suppression and the warranty-by-estoppel aspect of a breach of warranty claim against a stucco sales agent who was added as a defendant in a sixth amended complaint alleging problems with the exterior of an Alabama home, a federal judge in Alabama ruled, partially granting and partially denying the agent’s motion to dismiss.
September 29, 2022
Negligence, Strict Liability Claims Largely To Proceed In Chinese Drywall Cases

MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida ruled that most of the claims for negligence and strict liability in more than a dozen related cases by homeowners against Chinese drywall manufacturers may proceed after partially granting a motion for summary judgment by the manufacturers on several other claims, finding that some of those claims are barred because the plaintiffs are subsequent purchasers.
September 27, 2022
Del. Judge Rules On Summary Judgment, Testimony Exclusion In HVAC Defect Dispute

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware judge granted in part motions for summary judgment filed by contractors, an architect and an insurer in a defective design and negligence dispute over improvements to senior living homes’ HVAC systems, finding that summary judgment is unopposed for the insurer whose performance bond obligation “has not arisen” but the current record lacks facts as to the nexus between the alleged negligence of the architect and contractors’ conduct and the purportedly defective HVAC system.
September 22, 2022
Arbitration Clause Added To Roof Shingles Deemed Enforceable In Class Suit

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — An arbitration clause added to the packaging of roof shingles in December 2004 is enforceable, and an Illinois condominium property that purchased those shingles and had them installed on units constructed in 2006 and 2007 is bound by that clause, a federal judge in Kansas ruled, granting an arbitration motion by the defendant in a putative class complaint alleging defective shingle by the Illinois property and three homeowners in Connecticut and Ohio.
September 21, 2022
Judge Dismisses Urban Outfitters’ Fraud Claims Against Roofing Manufacturer

RENO, Nev. — Urban Outfitters Inc.’s fraud and conspiracy claims against the manufacturer of a roof on a Nevada distribution center were dismissed by a federal judge in that state who found that the retailer failed to plead its claims with particularity; however, the judge granted the plaintiff leave to amend even though no such request was filed.
September 21, 2022
Md. Federal Judge Grants 3 Motions, Dismisses Rotting Deck Claims With Prejudice

BALTIMORE — A federal judge in Maryland granted three motions to dismiss in a case where a homeowning couple sued several lumber manufacturers, one of which was dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, and a chemical supplier after the couple discovered that their deck was rotting and decaying, finding that the couple’s negligence and strict product liability claims were barred by the economic loss doctrine, that they failed to plead their unfair or deceptive trade practices claim with particularity and that they failed to state a claim for breach of warranty.
September 21, 2022
Attorney Fees Agreed On, Costs Approved Following Champlain Collapse Settlement

MIAMI — Class counsel’s motion for reimbursement of costs following the more than $1 billion class settlement in the consolidated case over the June 2021 partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South (CTS) condominium building in Surfside, Fla., was granted by a Florida judge on Sept. 16, two days after the receiver filed a notice that class counsel resolved how to allocate the $65 million in attorney fees awarded in August.
September 14, 2022
Judge Grants Judgment For Subcontractor, Says $1M Pool Defect Suit Is Time-Barred

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee federal judge on Sept. 13 granted summary judgment to a subcontractor in a suit filed against contractors and subcontractors alleging negligence, breach of contract and breaches of express and implied warranty over the alleged defective construction of a $1 million pool, finding that because the suit was filed outside of Tennessee’s four-year statute of repose period, the claims against the subcontractor are time-barred.
September 14, 2022
1st Circuit Finds $5.5M Award For Defects In London Dorm Properly Confirmed

BOSTON — A First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 13 affirmed the confirmation of a nearly $5.5 million award against a seller and its contractor for construction defects found in a London dormitory after its sale for more than $58 million to a university, finding the award timely confirmed although it was issued more than three years prior because the arbitration was not completed until years later.
September 14, 2022
Homeowner And Builder: Testimony Reveals Stucco Seller Misrepresented His Position

MOBILE, Ala. — In a response to a motion to dismiss a complaint in a federal court in Alabama alleging problems with the exterior of a home in that state, a homeowner and builder on Sept. 1 argue that recent testimony has revealed that a stucco salesman fraudulently misrepresented his relationship with a stucco manufacturer and that they intend to amend their complaint for a seventh time to incorporate this new evidence.