Mealey's Construction Defects
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July 05, 2024
Iowa Appeals Court: Home Project Designer Not Liable For Failed Siding
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Court of Appeals on July 3 affirmed summary judgment for a home improvement designer, agreeing that homeowners’ claims involving defective siding installation are not tort claims and that the designer was not a contractor who can be sued for breach of contract, breach of implied warranty or negligent construction.
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July 05, 2024
Walmart Subsidiary Can Amend Answer, Add Counterclaim In Building Defect Case
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia federal judge has granted a motion by Walmart Inc. subsidiary Sam’s East Inc. to file an amended answer and counterclaim in Summit Investments II’s construction defect lawsuit against it.
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July 03, 2024
Majority Says Fact Issues Exist On Whether New Flooring Caused Mold Growth
HOUSTON — After granting rehearing in a mold damage suit, the majority of a 14th District Texas Court of Appeals panel reversed course and determined that a question of fact exists as to whether defectively installed flooring was the cause of mold growth in the plaintiffs’ home.
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July 03, 2024
Breach Of Contract Claims In Construction Defect Suit Barred By Res Judicata
RICHMOND, Va. — Breach of contract claims arising out of an ex-husband’s defective construction work are barred by the doctrine of res judicata because the claims arose out of the same conduct alleged in the parties’ divorce proceeding, the Virginia Court of Appeals said in affirming a portion of a trial court’s ruling.
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July 02, 2024
Negligence Claim Related To Defect In Top Landing Of Stairs Can Proceed, Panel Says
SANTA ANA, Calif. — The Fourth District California Court of Appeal reversed a portion of a trial court’s ruling in favor of a contractor after determining that a plaintiff’s negligence claim can proceed because it is related to a set of stairs with an alleged latent defect, which is subject to a 10-year statute of limitations under California law.
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July 02, 2024
Judge Denies Sealant Maker’s Dismissal Motion In Defects Suit Over Shattered Panes
SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge denied a dismissal motion filed by a manufacturer of the sealant used in double-paned insulated glass units (IGUs) in a suit filed against it by a condominium homeowners association (HOA) alleging conspiracy to conceal the possibility of the units failing and shattering, finding that the HOA’s allegations are sufficient for personal jurisdiction over the manufacturer.
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July 02, 2024
Illinois Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal Of Duplicative Construction Defects Suit
CHICAGO — An Illinois trial court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing a man’s complaint alleging various construction defects against the previous owners of his condominium after finding that his complaint is nearly identical to a complaint filed by the building’s board of managers on behalf of the unit owners.
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July 02, 2024
Colorado High Court: Government Immunity Trumps Economic Loss Claim
DENVER — The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s governmental immunity law bars tort and breach-of-duty claims against Aspen, Colo., for construction defects in a city-sponsored affordable housing condominium project and precludes claims by a condominium association under the high court’s economic loss rule.
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July 02, 2024
Suit Limitation Provision Is Unenforceable Based On Contractor’s Unlicensed Status
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Virginia federal judge partially denied a motion to dismiss filed by defendants involved in the construction and sale of two couples’ homes because the one-year suit limitation provision in the sales contracts is unenforceable because the contractor who signed the contract is unlicensed.
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July 02, 2024
Fraud Claims Against Seller In Defects Dispute Can Proceed, Panel Says
DETROIT — The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of an innocent misrepresentation claim alleged against the seller of a property because an “as is” clause contained in the agreement of sale bars the claim; however, the panel said the buyers’ claims for fraud can proceed because questions of fact exist regarding the state of the property and the seller’s knowledge of a number of construction defects at the property.
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June 21, 2024
Fact Issue Exists On Roofing Company’s Intent To Transfer Warranty, Court Says
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A trial court erred in entering summary judgment for a roofing company on claims of breach of contract, breach of express warranty and negligence arising out of a warranty dispute because a question of fact exists as to whether the company intended to extend its warranty for roof repairs, completed as part of the sale of a home, to the homeowners who purchased the home, the Alabama Supreme Court said in reversing the trial court’s ruling.
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June 20, 2024
Arbitration Clause Is Not Enforceable In Defects Dispute, New Jersey Panel Says
TRENTON, N.J. — A trial court properly determined that an arbitration clause included in a condominium association’s bylaws does not compel arbitration of the association’s claims against a development company and numerous construction and design firms because the arbitration clause is unenforceable absent an agreement by all the parties to arbitrate, a New Jersey appellate panel said.
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June 20, 2024
Georgia Appeals Panel Reverses Trial Court’s Ruling In Pool Repair Dispute
ATLANTA — The Fifth Division Georgia Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a trial court’s ruling against a swimming pool company on a breach of contract claim after determining that the evidence does not support the trial court’s finding that the company made a substandard repair by using duct tape to fix a gas leak.
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June 10, 2024
Homeowners Ask Alaska Federal Judge To Reconsider Dismissal Of Faulty Window Claims
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An Alaska federal judge erred in dismissing two homeowners’ defective windows claims as untimely by finding that the claims accrued much earlier than they actually did, the homeowners argue in a motion for reconsideration of the dismissal order.
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June 10, 2024
In Faulty Shingles Case, Parties File Stipulation Of Dismissal With Prejudice
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — In Kansas federal court, a group of property owners and a roofing manufacturer jointly filed a joint stipulation to voluntarily dismiss a dispute over the company’s allegedly faulty shingles with prejudice.
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June 06, 2024
Mississippi Panel: Contractor Failed To Show Subcontractor’s Work Was Faulty
JACKSON, Miss. — A contractor that refused to pay a subcontractor for drywall work performed at a tire plant failed to support its contention that the subcontractor’s work was rejected by the plant’s owner with any evidence, a Mississippi appeals court panel found in reversing a county appellate court’s judgment.
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June 05, 2024
Homeowners Fail To Convince Federal Judge That Arbitration Terms Are Unconscionable
HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge entered declaratory judgment in favor of a homebuilder and said arbitration terms within the purchase agreement of a newly constructed home that suffered construction defects were not procedurally or substantively unconscionable.
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June 04, 2024
W.Va. Panel: Court Did Not Err In Considering Parol Evidence In Construction Row
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A trial court did not err in considering parol evidence when interpreting the terms of a construction contract for a house that was defectively constructed because the contract itself was ambiguous and appeared incomplete on its face, a West Virginia panel found in affirming a trial court’s decision to deny the homebuilder’s motion for a new trial.
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May 31, 2024
California Appeals Court Upholds Settlement Enforcement In Construction Dispute
FRESNO, Calif. — A California appeals panel on May 30 affirmed a lower court judge’s decision to enforce a settlement in a construction dispute between a contractor and a California city over flooding damage to the city’s courthouse and police station, rejecting the contractor’s argument that the trial court misinterpreted the scope of the settlement agreement.
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May 30, 2024
In Dispute Over Mold, Termite Damages, Florida Panel Affirms Denial Of Injunction
MIAMI — A trial court did not err in denying a condominium owner’s motion for a mandatory injunction to compel a condominium association to repair water, mold and termite damages allegedly caused by a waterline repair because the injunction would not immediately prevent further termite damage and would not address the root cause of the water and mold damages, a Florida panel found May 29 in affirming the trial court’s judgment.
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May 30, 2024
Contractor Is Excluded From Testifying About Cabin Owner’s Lost Rental Income
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A general contractor is not qualified to testify about lost rental income arising from allegedly defective construction work performed at a cabin because the owner of the property failed to show that the contractor is an expert on the topic, a Tennessee federal magistrate judge found in granting a motion to exclude in part.
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May 29, 2024
Maryland Federal Judge Dismisses New Home Mold Case Following Settlement
GREENBELT, Md. — Following a settlement conference in which all remaining claims arising from the allegedly defective construction of a new home that developed mold growth were resolved, a Maryland federal judge dismissed a construction defects case originally brought by the owners of the home against the builder.
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May 29, 2024
Alaska Federal Judge Dismisses Defective Window Claims With Prejudice
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Claims arising from the installation of allegedly defective windows on a home more than 20 years ago must be dismissed for failure to state a claim because the majority of the claims are time-barred, an Alaska federal judge found in granting a motion to dismiss filed by the window manufacturer, a member of its board of directors and a supplier.
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May 28, 2024
Home Renovation Work Does Not Carry Implied Warranty, Iowa Panel Concludes
DES MOINES, Iowa — Two homeowners’ claim for breach of the implied warranty of workmanlike construction fails against a home flipper who allegedly failed to properly renovate a 70-year-old home’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system because the flipper is not a “builder-vendor” under Iowa law, an Iowa appeals panel found in affirming a trial court’s judgment.
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May 21, 2024
Colorado Federal Judge Stays Modular Home Case In Favor Of Arbitration
DENVER — Claims arising out of the allegedly faulty construction of a modular home must be arbitrated because the claims fit within the broad scope of the arbitration clause contained within the ownership agreement signed by the homeowners and the builder, a Colorado federal judge found in granting the builder’s motion to compel arbitration.