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

Mealey's Construction Defects

March 27, 2025
California Appeals Court Affirms $24M Arbitration Award For Defective Windows

LOS ANGELES — A California appellate court panel has affirmed a $24 million arbitration award to an office building owner from a window supplier, ruling that the owner has standing to pursue its claim as successor to the original owner.
March 24, 2025
Minnesota Appeals Court Upholds Spoliation, Damages Rulings In Retaining Wall Case

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in a case involving the defective construction of retaining walls, agreeing with the trial court that the plaintiffs spoliated evidence by not allowing the contractor/neighbor to inspect his work before they allowed remedial repairs and by failing to support their damages claim.
March 24, 2025
Federal Warranty Claim About Leaky Mobile Home Roof Is Too Late, Judge Says

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama federal judge has dismissed federal warranty claims against a mobile home maker and wholesaler because the plaintiffs missed the one-year time limit for their claim of a defective, leaky roof. The judge remanded the remaining state law claims to state court.
March 21, 2025
Texas Appeals Court Reverses Third-Party Nondismissal In Roof Defect Case

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Texas appeals panel on March 20 reversed a motion to dismiss a third-party complaint in a condominium roof construction defect case, agreeing with an appointed qualified inspector that the general contractor failed to submit a proper affidavit claiming that it produced a certificate of merit backing its legal position.
March 17, 2025
South Carolina Appeals Court Backs Judgment For 2 Subcontractors In Indemnity Case

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Court of Appeals has affirmed summary judgment for two subcontractors, agreeing that the indemnity language used by a window supplier was unclear and that the supplier’s claims were unsupported and barred by collateral estoppel.
March 14, 2025
Georgia Appeals Court Reverses Default Judgment; Defendants Not In Contract

ATLANTA — The Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a $40,000 default judgment in a construction defect case because it was assessed against a man and a business that are not mentioned in the unsigned contract for storm repairs.
March 14, 2025
Lessee’s Counterclaim Partly Dismissed Against Owner For Concrete Repair Damage

RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia federal judge has granted partial summary judgment to the owner of a large warehouse against a lessee’s counterclaim for concrete floor damages caused when the lessee had joint work performed without consultation.
March 07, 2025
South Carolina Appeals Court Affirms, Reverses Judgments For Subcontractors

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Court of Appeal has ruled that a trial court properly granted summary judgment on a contractor’s indemnity claim against several subcontractors and that the lower court had jurisdiction to hear the subcontractors’ summary judgment motions regardless of an underlying construction defect case. But the panel said the trial court erred in finding that the contractor’s indemnity claims were barred by the statute of limitations.
March 03, 2025
Judge: Hotel Owner Can Sue Architect For Indemnity, But Facts Are Insufficient

GREENBELT, Md. — A Maryland federal judge said an indemnity clause in a contract does not bar a Florida hotel project owner from making a breach of contract claim against a Florida architect for alleged design defects, but the judge dismissed the claim without prejudice because an amended complaint does not alleged sufficient factual allegations to provide the architect with notice of the claim.
February 28, 2025
Florida Appeals Court: Lower Court Must Stay Pending Defect Presuit Notice

MIAMI — A Florida state appeals court panel has granted a petition for a writ of certiorari and quashed a trial court order denying a defendant’s motion to stay a construction defect case pending the plaintiff’s compliance with the state’s presuit notice requirement for such actions.
February 21, 2025
South Carolina Appeals Court Affirms Summary Judgment On Indemnity Issues

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Court of Appeals has rejected several appeals by a framing and window subcontractor in a construction defect case, finding that the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to the subcontractor’s subcontractors on the issues of indemnity and defense.
February 21, 2025
Judge Won’t Dismiss Window Third-Party Defendant In Construction Defect Case

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge has denied a subcontractor’s motion to dismiss a third-party demand in a construction defect case, saying the plaintiff’s complaint about exterior defects can include windows even if it does not specify them at this stage of the case.
February 21, 2025
South Carolina Appeals Court: Trial Judge Didn’t Explain Dismissal Of Cross-Claims

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Court of Appeals on Feb. 19 in a per curiam opinion reversed a trial judge’s dismissal of indemnity cross-claims by a contractor against his subcontractors because the judge did not indicate in his dismissal order what claims he was dismissing.
February 21, 2025
Texas Appeals Court Affirms Construction Defect Award, Remands Appeal Fees

HOUSTON — A Texas state appeals court has affirmed most of a $492,363 jury award in a defective house case against developer K. Hovanian but reversed the award of appellate expert fees and unconditional appellate attorney fees for redetermination.
February 18, 2025
Florida Appeals Court: Homebuilder Is Due Attorney Fees From Subcontractor

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida appeals court said a homebuilder is entitled to attorney fees from a subcontractor, ruling that the fees stem from an interaction between the builder and a stucco subtractor and those were separate from the homeowners’ claims against the builder.
February 18, 2025
Indiana Homebuilder Agrees To Stop Imposing Gag Rule On Bad Reviews

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana homebuilder has agreed to stop imposing a gag rule on home buyers, according to an assurance of voluntary compliance filed in state court by the state attorney general and the builder.
February 12, 2025
Final Attorney Fees Award Granted In Decade-Old Defective Flooring Class Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — More than four years after a class action settlement over defective bamboo flooring sold by Lumber Liquidators Inc. received final approval, a California federal judge granted a motion by class counsel for a final attorney fees award of $863,919.82, representing 25% of the value of store vouchers redeemed by class members in the last two years.
February 10, 2025
New York Appeals Court Modifies Trial Court Order In Multiparty Defect Case

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A New York state appeals court has issued an order modifying a trial court order, reversing the lower court’s rulings allowing the addition of a plaintiff and denying cross-motions for dismissal of certain claims by various defendants in a construction defect case involving a renovated apartment building.
February 07, 2025
Texas Appeals Court Reverses Defense Summary Judgment In Construction Defect Case

HOUSTON — A Texas state appeals court has reversed summary judgment for a construction manager, general contractor and construction administrator in a construction defect case brought by a Holiday Inn division, finding that a trial court erred in its rulings on standing, statute of limitations and the economic loss rule.
February 07, 2025
Maryland High Court: Seller Not Registered As Home Builder, Must Answer Cases

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland Supreme Court ruled that because a company that sold two houses did not register under state law as a “home builder,” a contractual one-year time limit cannot apply to two homeowners who filed separate class actions alleging they were misled about 30-year deferred sewer and water costs associated with their home purchases.
February 04, 2025
2 Couples Separately Resolve Remaining Defective Construction Claims, Ending Case

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge in Virginia signed separate orders dismissing with prejudice the remaining claims of two couples who sued defendants involved in the construction and sale of their homes after the remaining parties filed stipulations of dismissal indicating that the couples had reached settlements that also disposed of all of their “claims as against all the other Defendants currently or formerly in this lawsuit.”
January 31, 2025
Missing Papers Get New York Condo Owner Partial Judgment In Water Damage Case

NEW YORK — Presented with missing documentation, a New York state trial justice has granted a renewed motion for partial summary judgment for a condominium owner in a construction defect case against the company that oversaw the project.
January 27, 2025
New York Appeals Court: Modular Home Maker Must Face Negligence, Warranty Claims

ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York appeals court reversed summary judgment on a negligence claim and warranty claim against the manufacturer of a modular home but affirmed other portions of a trial court’s ruling in favor of the defendant.
January 27, 2025
Negligence, Fraud Claims Survive In New York Defects Case; Deception Claims Out

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A New York state appeals court held that a trial court did not err in denying dismissal of negligence and fraud claims in a home construction defect case, but said the plaintiffs failed to state a cause of action for alleged violations of the state’s deceptive acts and false advertising laws.
January 23, 2025
California Appeals Court Affirms Denial Of Prejudgment Interest In Hotel HVAC Case

SAN FRANCISCO — A California state appeals court has affirmed the denial of $9 million in prejudgment interest on a $17.3 million verdict in a hotel heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) defect case, agreeing that the amount of damages was in “serious dispute.”