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

Mealey's Construction Defects

May 03, 2023
Connecticut Judge Grants Prejudgment Remedy For Failed HVAC System Installation

STAMFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut judge found that the evidence presented at a hearing established probable cause that judgment would be entered in favor of a homeowner who alleged that a contractor and its principal failed to properly install a heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system in her home.
May 02, 2023
Faulty Home Construction Case Stayed Pending Arbitration In Maryland Federal Court

BALTIMORE — After a group of homeowners agreed in their response to a developer’s motion to compel arbitration that the remaining construction defects claims between the parties should be arbitrated, a Maryland federal judge on May 1 granted the developer’s motion as well as the homeowners’ request to stay the case instead of dismissing it.
May 02, 2023
Summary Judgment Granted In Dispute Over Pa. Homes Damaged By Landslide

PITTSBURGH — Disputes of material fact exist only regarding breach of contract and negligence claims brought by a homebuilder against two developers who worked on a housing development in which three homes were damaged by a landslide, a Pennsylvania federal judge found in granting partial summary judgment to the two developers while granting complete summary judgment to eight other parties involved with the project who were ultimately found not responsible for the landslide.
May 01, 2023
Fla. Judge: Contract Between Contractor And Developer Contains Arbitration Clause

SARASOTA, Fla. — A Florida judge ordered a subcontractor to participate in arbitration proceedings to decide claims of defective construction brought by a condominium association against it and the project’s developer because the contract between the subcontractor and developer contained an enforceable arbitration agreement under Florida law.
May 01, 2023
Fact Issues Remain As To Whether Prior Award Deterred Chinese Drywall Manufacturer

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Summary judgment is inappropriate on the issue of whether a Florida statute prohibits successive punitive damages awards against a manufacturer of defective Chinese drywall because it is unclear whether a confidential settlement was sufficient to deter the manufacturer’s behavior, a Florida federal judge found in partly granting the manufacturer’s motion for summary judgment in two cases brought by homeowners who were affected by the drywall.
May 01, 2023
S.C. Panel: Contractor’s Design Claims Derived From Its Own Litigation Defense

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to an architect on third-party claims of negligence and breach of warranty brought by a general contractor that alleges that the architect’s designs caused defects in the construction of a multiuse development project because the damages sought arose from the contractor’s own need to defend itself from claims brought by the project’s owner, a South Carolina appellate court panel held in affirming.
April 28, 2023
La. Panel Affirms Damages Against Builder Who Abandoned Home Construction Project

NEW ORLEANS — A trial court properly awarded damages to a couple whose home suffered structural problems after a builder who agreed to renovate and construct an addition to the home abandoned the project before it was completed, a Louisiana appellate court panel found in affirming the damages award.
April 27, 2023
California Panel Orders Retrial In Dispute Over Concrete Pour At School Site

LOS ANGELES — A jury instruction regarding responsibility for the completeness and accuracy of design plans on public works projects was erroneously given and requires the liability determination made by a jury to be retried, a California panel found, remanding the jury’s verdict, which said the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) provided incorrect design plans to a construction company that then poured a defective concrete foundation on the site of a new school.
April 27, 2023
9th Circuit Affirms 2 Orders In Insulation And Mold Dispute

SAN FRANCISCO — In a consolidated appeal, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed two trial court orders, one denying a design firm’s motion for attorney fees and another denying both of a subcontractor’s motions for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL), both of which were filed after a jury found in favor of the firm on its allegations that the subcontractor improperly installed insulation on a property, which led to mold growth.
April 26, 2023
Engineer Says Dismissal Of Negligent Miami Bridge Design Claims Was Proper

MIAMI — In response to a joint venture’s motion for reconsideration of the dismissal of negligence claims it brought against an engineer and his firm for the alleged negligent design of an $800 million bridge in Miami, the engineer argues that the issue of which statute of limitations should apply was fully briefed and considered by the Florida federal judge when dismissal was granted.
April 24, 2023
Builder Appeals Judgment Awarding Costs And Fees To Homeowners To 3rd Circuit

PITTSBURGH — A homebuilder found by a jury to have engaged in fraudulent or deceptive conduct while defectively constructing a new home has appealed a Pennsylvania federal judge’s decision to award two homeowners attorney fees, expert fees and other costs under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL) to the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
April 21, 2023
Roofing Company Seeks Dismissal Of Negligence Claim, Says Liability Theories Fail

NEW ORLEANS — In response to an amended complaint filed by a property owner and an operator of a nursing home who allege that a roofing manufacturer was vicariously liable for damage caused to property during Hurricane Ida, the manufacturer moved to dismiss the negligence claim, arguing that the Louisiana Products Liability Act (LPLA) subsumes the theories of liability cited by the plaintiffs.
April 20, 2023
Parties Exchange Briefs In Homeowners’ Appeal Of Dismissal Of Mold Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A homeowner and a builder submitted their briefs regarding the exclusion of the homeowners’ expert witness material to the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in the homeowner’s appeal of a trial court’s partial granting of both a motion in limine and a motion to strike her expert witness material in addition to its granting summary judgment in favor of the builder on claims arising from damage to a newly built home allegedly caused by a leaking shower that led to toxic mold growth.
April 19, 2023
Pa. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Homebuilders’ Appeal Of Document Production Issue

HARRISBURG, Pa. — In an April 18 per curiam order, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied a homebuilder’s petition to appeal an appellate court opinion upholding a trial court’s finding that the builder’s spreadsheets, containing lists of customers who complained of water intrusion in their homes, were not privileged or protected attorney work product because the documents were factual in nature and prepared by the companies’ operations department, not their legal counsel.
April 18, 2023
N.Y. Justice Dismisses Several Claims In Home Renovation Dispute As Duplicative

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — In partly granting motions to dismiss claims of defective construction and architectural planning brought by a homeowner against an architect and a general contractor plus his company, which worked on renovations and an extension to a home, a New York justice held that many of the claims, including breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and breach of material representation, were duplicative of breach of contract claims, which were allowed to continue.
April 17, 2023
In Chinese Drywall Case, Florida Federal Judge Says Punitive Damages May Apply

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A homeowner may be entitled to punitive damages if he can show that a previous punitive damages award against a manufacturer of defective Chinese drywall, which was used in his home, was insufficient to punish the manufacturer’s behavior, a Florida federal judge found April 14 in partly adopting a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation interpreting a Florida statute that prohibits successive punitive damages awards.
April 13, 2023
Connecticut Judge: Construction And Later Renovation Of Walkway Was 1 Transaction

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The original construction of an elevated walkway in a condominium complex, designed by an architect and his firm, was the same transaction or occurrence as renovations to fix the walkway that ultimately made water accumulation problems worse, a Connecticut judge found in denying the architect and firm’s motions to strike negligence claims brought against them by the condominium association and apportionment claims brought by the builders that designed and performed the renovation.
April 13, 2023
In Home Water Damage Case, Pa. Judge Denies Petition To Vacate Arbitration Ruling

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Two homeowners were not denied their right to an evidentiary hearing in an arbitration proceeding because they agreed to be bound by a scheduling order that allowed for their claims to be dismissed by a dispositive motion, a Pennsylvania judge found in denying the homeowners’ petition to vacate an arbitration ruling that granted the homebuilder’s motion to dismiss the homeowners’ claims of water damage to the stucco of their home.
April 13, 2023
Reconsideration Sought For Dismissal Of Claims Over Design Of Miami Bridge

MIAMI — A joint venture seeks reconsideration of an order in which a Florida federal judge found that negligence claims brought by the joint venture against an engineer and his firm for the alleged negligent design of an $800 million bridge in Miami are barred by the statute of limitations.
April 05, 2023
Kansas Federal Judge: Expert Rebuttal Report Is Proper In Faulty Roofing Dispute

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The expert rebuttal report of a condominium property and three property owners should not be stricken because the challenged portions of the report contain proper testimony that responds to the expert reports offered by a shingles manufacturer that allegedly failed to disclose the problems related to its defective shingles and failed to compensate property owners injured by the alleged defects, a Kansas federal judge found in denying the manufacturer’s motion to strike the rebuttal report.
April 05, 2023
Federal Judge Dismisses Negligence Claims For Design Of Miami’s Signature Bridge

MIAMI — A Florida federal judge dismissed claims of negligence and gross negligence brought by a joint venture against an engineering firm and one of its engineers for the alleged negligent design of an $800 million bridge in Miami, finding that the independent tort doctrine and the statute of limitations barred the claims.
April 04, 2023
In Brazilian Plywood Case, Fla. Federal Judge Extends Stay To Allow Negotiations

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In an April 3 paperless order, a Florida federal judge granted a joint motion for an extension of an administrative stay filed by a coalition of American plywood manufacturers and a plywood certifying agency to allow the parties to negotiate the settlement of claims that the agency is certifying substandard Brazilian plywood as meeting U.S. standards.
April 04, 2023
In Leaking Home Dispute, Illinois Panel Reduces And Vacates Damages

CHICAGO — An Illinois panel reduced compensatory damages and vacated punitive damages awarded to a homeowner for the defective construction of a third-floor addition to his home and a breezeway because the trial court used the wrong calculation for compensatory damages and the homeowner did not have an actionable claim under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (ICFA).
April 04, 2023
La. Federal Judge Partially Dismisses Manufactured Home Claims For Lack Of Notice

SHREVEPORT, La. — Under Louisiana’s New Modular and Manufactured Home Warranty Act (MHWA), a homeowner was required to provide notice to a state commission before bringing claims based on alleged construction defects to court, a Louisiana federal judge determined in partially granting the homebuilder’s motion to dismiss the claims under the law.
April 04, 2023
Texas Panel: Homeowners Failed To Show New Wood Flooring Led To Mold Growth

HOUSTON — Two homeowners who alleged that improperly installed flooring caused mold growth failed to present sufficient evidence that showed that the installation was the cause of the growth, a majority of a split Texas panel found in partially affirming a trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a lumber retailing company and the subcontractor it hired to install the floors.