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

Mealey's Construction Defects

November 09, 2023
California Panel: Builder Was Properly Served Despite Wrong Name In Complaint

FRESNO, Calif. — Even though a homebuilder was improperly named in a complaint alleging claims for construction defects, he was properly served because service was sent to the location of his business, which was properly named in the pleading, a California appellate panel found in affirming a trial court’s decision to deny the builder’s motion to vacate a default judgment.
November 07, 2023
Ala. High Court: Contractor Failed To Timely Appeal Final Arbitrability Judgment

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A majority of the Alabama Supreme Court did not address whether a trial court erred in denying a motion to compel arbitration filed by a contractor that allegedly performed defective renovation work on a home damaged by Hurricane Sally because the trial court had previously decided the issue of arbitrability in an earlier order, which the contractor failed to appeal.
November 01, 2023
California Judge Overrules Demurrer In Dispute Over Solar Panel Installation

LOS ANGELES — In overruling a demurrer filed by the CEO of an electrical subcontractor that worked on the allegedly defective installation of a solar panel system on the roof of a home, a California judge found that the homeowner stated his causes of action in his first amended complaint and that the pleading was not uncertain to the point of incomprehensibility.
October 31, 2023
Illinois Panel Won’t Award Fees Or Costs To Builder That Didn’t Comply With Award

CHICAGO — A homebuilder that succeeded in arbitration against homeowners who alleged that their home was defectively constructed is not entitled to post-judgment interest, attorney fees or costs because it failed to comply with a condition precedent in the arbitration award, an Illinois appellate court panel found in affirming a trial court’s judgment.
October 30, 2023
N.Y. Justice Partly Grants Motion To Dismiss In Luxury Building Construction Clash

NEW YORK — The general contractor for the construction of a luxury residential building is not entitled to common-law indemnification from a subcontractor who worked on the project because the contractor oversaw and supervised the work that allegedly failed to comply with federal, state and local accessibility standards, a New York justice found in partly granting the subcontractor’s motion to dismiss.
October 27, 2023
Coalition Responds To Motion To Dismiss In Brazilian Plywood Dispute

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A coalition of American plywood manufacturers who allege that an accreditor of plywood certifying agencies contributed to the certification of substandard Brazilian structural plywood as meeting U.S. standards responded Oct. 26 to a motion to dismiss the coalition’s claims of negligence and false advertising.
October 27, 2023
In Modular Home Construction Case, N.Y. Justice Says Motion Lacked Factual Support

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — In denying a motion to dismiss filed by a company that allegedly failed to install portions of a modular home that was later said to be damaged by high humidity, a New York justice found that the company failed to authenticate any of the exhibits attached to the motion and said the documents had no evidentiary value.
October 25, 2023
Federal Magistrate Judge Recommends Granting Chinese Drywall Makers Attorney Fees

TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida federal magistrate judge recommended granting a motion for attorney fees filed by the manufacturers of Chinese drywall under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) because several equitable factors weighed in their favor as opposed to the homeowners who alleged that the drywall damaged their home and caused them health problems.
October 24, 2023
N.Y. Justice Denies Motion To Dismiss Indemnification Claims In Water Damage Clash

NEW YORK — A New York justice denied a demolition company’s motion to dismiss indemnification and contribution claims filed by a construction company that says the demolition work performed on a different floor of a building where it performed renovation work was the actual cause of water damage for which the construction company is being sued.
October 24, 2023
New Jersey Panel: Construction Company Did Not Waive Arbitration Rights By Suing

TRENTON, N.J. — A construction company that is alleged to have negligently installed door products on a home did not waive its right to arbitrate when it originally sued the homeowner to collect payments for the products because the suit did not prejudice either party, a New Jersey panel found Oct. 23 in affirming a trial court’s decision in part.
October 20, 2023
Calif. Judge: Owners Of Construction Company Failed To Plead Affirmative Defense

LOS ANGELES — Two owners of a construction company failed to plead sufficient facts in support of their affirmative defense that they entered into a novation and extinguished the contract they signed with two homeowners who sued the owners, the construction company and one of its affiliates for defectively renovating their home, a California judge found in granting the homeowners’ demurrer to the affirmative defense.
October 19, 2023
Texas Panel: No Evidence Sellers Knew About Structural Defects In Fitness Center

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A roof inspection report does not show that two sellers of a newly constructed home fitness center knew about structural defects in the building before selling it because the report did not mention any structural defects, a Texas panel found Oct. 19 in affirming a trial court’s judgment against the buyer, which claimed that it was induced to purchase the property based on misrepresentations about its condition.
October 18, 2023
Tenn. Panel: Trial Court Properly Considered Testimony In Construction Dispute

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A trial court did not err in considering the testimony of an expert contractor when determining the cost to repair construction defects in the flooring of a home’s foyer because the expert’s testimony was specifically offered for that issue, a Tennessee panel found in affirming a trial court’s decision to award more than $77,000 to a homeowner who sued the builder and its members after discovering the defects.
October 17, 2023
Federal Judge: Chinese Drywall Is Not A ‘Good’ Under Alabama Law

MOBILE, Ala. — A manufacturer of defective Chinese-manufactured drywall is entitled to summary judgment on a breach of implied warranty claim brought by a homeowning couple who says the drywall damaged their home because such a claim applies only to goods and drywall ceases to be a good when it is affixed to a home, an Alabama federal judge found Oct. 16 in granting summary judgment in favor of the manufacturer.
October 12, 2023
Pennsylvania Panel Remands Some Defective Home Construction Counterclaims

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A trial court erred in finding that a homeowning couple was required to plead specific legal theories in support of their construction defects counterclaims brought against a general contractor because Pennsylvania law requires only fact pleading, a Pennsylvania appellate court panel found in remanding some of the counterclaims to the trial court.
October 12, 2023
Motions Denied In Dispute Over Water Damage At Manhattan Construction Site

NEW YORK — A New York justice dismissed motions for partial summary judgment filed by the owner of a construction site and the project manager that allegedly failed to prevent a temporary water tank from overflowing on the site because questions of fact remain regarding the parties’ various claims and counterclaims.
October 11, 2023
Homeowners May Change Plaintiffs In Anchors Defect Case, Magistrate Rules

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge on Oct. 10 granted a group of homeowners’ motion to file an amended complaint changing certain plaintiffs in their putative class action alleging that a manufacturer sold them defective home connectors and anchors, despite the manufacturer’s arguments that adding new plaintiffs and allegations about a new home will cause it to incur thousands of dollars in inspection and discovery-related costs.
October 11, 2023
Homebuilder Appeals Remand Order Of Mold Class Dispute To The 5th Circuit

NEW ORLEANS — A homebuilder that is alleged to have defectively constructed a large number of homes in Louisiana appealed a federal trial court order remanding its class action to state court in which the federal court determined that removal was untimely under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) and that the statute’s controversy exception applied.
October 06, 2023
Dismissal Denied In Complaint Alleging Contractor Didn’t Add Designers As Insureds

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge denied in part a contractor’s motion to dismiss a design company’s third-party complaint against the contractor over its failure to add the company as an additional insured in a homeowner’s breach of contract suit alleging that the company failed to complete and abandoned a home renovation project, finding in part that additional discovery is needed to determine the actual relationship between the design company and contractor because the subcontractor agreement between them was never signed.
October 04, 2023
In Renovation Dispute, Fourth-Party Indemnification And Contribution Claims Fail

NEW YORK — A subcontractor that is alleged to have negligently installed wallcoverings in a Manhattan hotel cannot recover under claims of indemnification and contribution against the supplier of the wallcoverings because it failed to allege that the supplier breached a duty and the original plaintiff, the owner of the hotel, sought only economic damages, a New York federal judge found in granting the supplier’s motion for judgment on the pleadings.
October 04, 2023
N.Y. Justice: Arbitrator Will Decide Arbitrability Of Faulty Construction Claims

NEW YORK — Whether claims that a company performed defective concrete work on a home construction project are subject to an arbitration provision within the contract governing the project is an issue to be decided by the arbitrator, a New York justice found in partly denying a petition to permanently stay arbitration filed by the company and two of its employees.
October 02, 2023
Tenn. High Court: Trial Court Has No Jurisdiction Over Construction In Alabama

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee trial court has no personal jurisdiction over a builder for the allegedly defective construction of a lake house in Alabama because the builder did not have enough minimum contacts with Tennessee to establish specific personal jurisdiction, the Tennessee Supreme Court held in reversing an appellate court’s judgment.
October 02, 2023
Accreditor Moves To Dismiss Claims Against It In Brazilian Plywood Dispute

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — An accreditor of plywood certifying agencies has moved to dismiss claims of negligence and false advertising brought against it by a coalition of American plywood manufacturers who allege that the accreditor contributed to the certification of substandard Brazilian structural plywood as meeting U.S. standards.
September 29, 2023
N.Y. Justice Partly Grants Summary Judgment In Dispute Over Building Renovation

NEW YORK — A New York justice dismissed claims of breach of contract, nuisance, prima facie tort and injunctive relief brought by the owner of a building who says its neighbor damaged the building while performing renovations to ensure that the neighboring building could receive a certificate of occupancy.
September 29, 2023
Ga. Judge: Subcontractor Must Arbitrate Defective Apartment Construction Claims

ATLANTA — A subcontractor must arbitrate claims of defective construction brought by the owner of an apartment complex because the subcontract incorporated the terms of the general contract, which contained a valid arbitration provision, a Georgia judge found in granting a joint motion to stay litigation and compel arbitration.