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

Mealey's Construction Defects

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.
September 14, 2022
Homeowner: Arbitration Agreement Attached To Deed Doesn’t Run With The Land

AUSTIN, Texas — A homeowner argues in her Aug. 31 respondent’s brief on the merits filed in the Texas Supreme Court that she should not be compelled to arbitrate because she never signed an arbitration agreement and the agreement signed by the previous owner and the builder and attached to the home’s deed does not bind her to arbitrate because it was a personal covenant that did not touch and concern the land.
September 01, 2022
Florida Judge Issues Orders On Receiver, Attorney Fees In Champlain Collapse Suit

MIAMI — In multiple orders issued Aug. 30 and Aug. 31, the Florida judge overseeing 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., awarded class counsel $65 million in attorney fees and the receiver more than $5.6 million in fees and expenses and ordered class counsel to meet with the receiver regarding the proper division of fees.
August 31, 2022
Grenfell Tower Residents Petition For Rehearing In Flammable Panels Case

PHILADELPHIA — Former residents of London’s Grenfell Tower, which caught fire in 2017, on July 22 filed a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that the panel erred in affirming, on grounds of forum non conveniens, the dismissal of their strict products liability case against manufacturers of the allegedly flammable panels used on the tower and in removing a condition placed on the dismissal that could have allowed the case to return to the trial court.
August 31, 2022
Texas Panel: Testimony Shows Contractor’s Work Was Defective And Funds Missing

TYLER, Texas — A Texas appellate panel on Aug. 24, relying upon witness testimony, affirmed a trial court’s finding that the evidence indicated that a contractor breached his contract and the implied warranty of construction in a good and workmanlike manner by defectively constructing several features of a new home for a property owner and withdrawing more funds than he could document spending on the project.
August 31, 2022
Condo Association, Roofing Manufacturer Stipulate To Dismissal After Settlement

CHARLESTON, S.C. — One month after a federal judge in South Carolina ordered the dismissal of a case in which a condominium association claimed that a roofing manufacturer’s roof system was defective and unfit for hurricane weather, the two parties on July 26 filed a stipulation of dismissal after settling the association’s remaining claims of gross negligence and breach of express warranty.
August 31, 2022
Preliminary Approval Sought For $20.5M Settlement In Post-Katrina Housing Case

NEW ORLEANS — All parties in a putative class action brought by residents of New Orleans who purchased their homes from actor Brad Pitt’s nonprofit organization and who alleged that the houses contained numerous construction defects sought preliminary approval of a $20.5 million settlement on Aug. 16 in a Louisiana state court.
August 31, 2022
Subcontractor Says Developer Cannot Compel Arbitration Without Raising Cross-Claims

SARASOTA, Fla. — After being named in a request for joinder in an arbitration proceeding, a subcontractor on Aug. 1 asked a Florida court to determine whether an arbitration agreement exists between it and a condominium developer, both of which have been sued by the condominium association, arguing that the clause is not valid under Florida law and the developer waived its right to compel arbitration when it failed to raise cross-claims after two years of litigation.
August 30, 2022
Class Counsel In Champlain Towers Collapse Suit Awarded More Than $65M In Attorney Fees

MIAMI — Class counsel for the plaintiffs in the consolidated case in a Florida court over the June 2021 partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South (CTS) condominium building in Surfside, Fla., that has been settled for more than $1 billion were awarded more than $65 million in attorney fees in a hearing on Aug. 29.