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

Mealey's Construction Defects

February 28, 2024
Florida Panel: Credit Agreement Did Not Negate Certain Construction Claims

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Third-party claims for breach of implied contract and negligence brought by a general contractor against a subcontractor that both worked on an allegedly defective home construction project were not negated by the terms of a credit agreement signed by the two parties because the credit agreement did not apply to the parties’ implied contract and the general contractor pleaded alternative forms of duty, a Florida appeals court panel found in partly reversing a trial court’s decision to grant the subcontractor’s motion to dismiss.
February 22, 2024
Magistrate: Lead Case Against The Presidio Not Barred By Federal Tort Claims Act

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal magistrate judge in California has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit for lead-paint poisoning brought by tenants who rent a home in the Presidio, a federal enclave administered by the Presidio Trust, ruling that the claims are not barred by the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). However, the magistrate judge dismissed claims for punitive damages and claims against one of the contractors for emotional distress and nuisance, ruling that they were duplicative of other claims.
February 22, 2024
West Virginia Federal Judge Dismisses Roofing Repair Dispute After Settlement

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — After the parties filed a proposed agreed order of dismissal, a West Virginia federal judge dismissed with prejudice claims arising from allegedly defective roof repair work performed by a roofer on a company’s office building.
February 22, 2024
Texas Panel: Builder Did Not Waive Right To Arbitrate Construction Defects Claims

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A builder did not waive its right to arbitrate by failing to set a hearing for its motion to compel arbitration of construction defects claims for almost two years because the builder’s litigation conduct did not clearly demonstrate that it intended to waive any right, a Texas panel found in reversing a trial court’s judgment.
February 22, 2024
Homeowner Awarded Nearly $300,000 After Contractor’s Default In Connecticut Court

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A homeowner is entitled to nearly $300,000 in damages, punitive damages, costs and attorney fees after a contractor defaulted on claims brought against it for defective repairs and renovations performed on a home that was damaged by a tornado.
February 21, 2024
Questions Of Fact Exist About Termination Of Construction Contract, Conn. Judge Says

STAMFORD, Conn. — A builder that allegedly performed defective construction work at a new home is not entitled to summary judgment on the claims brought against it by the homeowner because questions of fact exist about whether the builder should have been given an opportunity to cure the defects before the contract between the parties was terminated and more, a Connecticut judge found in denying the builder’s motion for summary judgment.
February 21, 2024
In Construction Row, Calif. Panel Won’t Disrupt Jury Findings On Limitations Period

SAN FRANCISCO — The evidentiary record did not fail to support a jury’s findings that construction defects claims arising from alleged water intrusion at an apartment complex are time-barred by the applicable 10-year statute of limitations, a California panel found in affirming a trial court’s judgment.
February 21, 2024
Owner Of 43-Story Boston Building Files Suit Over Plumbing Systems Defects

BOSTON — The owner of a new 43-story skyscraper in Boston known as One Congress has sued two companies in Massachusetts state court, alleging that they failed to properly design plumbing and high-pressure water systems within the building, which caused construction delays and other damages.
February 21, 2024
Pennsylvania Federal Judge: Man Lacks Standing To Bring Defective Lumber Claims

PITTSBURGH — A man who claims that a lumber company failed to adequately dry lumber before delivering it to a new home construction site does not have prudential standing to assert his claims because he does not own the property on which the home was built, a Pennsylvania federal judge found in granting the lumber company’s motion for summary judgment.
February 16, 2024
Fla. Federal Judge Transfers Construction Defects Claims To Maryland District Court

ORLANDO, Fla. — Pursuant to a forum selection clause signed by the two parties, a Florida federal judge transferred claims brought by a hotel developer against an architecture firm arising from allegedly defective construction at a new luxury hotel because the developer failed to raise any substantive arguments against the transfer.
February 13, 2024
Pennsylvania Panel: Court Erred In Dismissing Construction Claims Over Party Name

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A trial court erred in dismissing construction defects claims arising from an allegedly leaky building based on the property owner’s attempt to amend its complaint to correctly name itself in the case caption because the defendant builders would not be prejudiced by such an amendment, a Pennsylvania appellate court panel found in vacating and reversing the trial court’s judgment.
February 12, 2024
Construction Subcontractor Failed To Plead False Claims Act Violations, Judge Says

PHILADELPHIA — A subcontractor that was fired from a project to build a school at a Marine Corps base failed to state any False Claims Act (FCA) claims against the project’s general contractor because the subcontractor failed to show that the government was not aware of the contractor’s allegedly defective work when it issued payments to the contractor.
February 12, 2024
Homeowner Fails To Secure Fees From Ohio Panel In Pool Construction Dispute

AKRON, Ohio — A homeowner who reached a settlement with a construction company and its contractors for the alleged defective construction of an inground pool and related features is not entitled to attorney fees incurred in filing a motion to enforce the settlement agreement because the homeowner failed to show that the defendants acted in bad faith, an Ohio appeals court panel found in affirming a trial court’s judgment.
February 07, 2024
New York Justice Dismisses Claims, Denies Motion To Amend In Construction Dispute

NEW YORK — A New York justice dismissed claims of fraud, negligence, gross negligence and more in disposing of four motions to dismiss filed by designers of a construction project that was allegedly mismanaged, causing damage to a neighboring building.
February 06, 2024
Following Stipulation, 6th Circuit Dismisses Home Construction Dispute

CINCINNATI — Following a stipulation filed by a homeowner and a builder, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal filed by the homeowner over a final judgment in favor of the builder based on a summary judgment order in which a trial court found that the homeowner could not assert counterclaims for construction defects against the builder because he moved into a new home and therefore accepted its condition.
January 31, 2024
Montana High Court: Text Messages Properly Settled Home Construction Claims

HELENA, Mont. — A homeowning couple must finalize a settlement agreement resolving construction defects claims arising from allegedly defective remodeling of their home because text messages between one of the homeowners and the brother of the general contractor that performed the work constituted a valid settlement agreement that satisfied the statute of frauds, the majority of the Montana Supreme Court found Jan. 30 in affirming a trial court’s judgment.
January 31, 2024
Oklahoma Federal Judge: Homeowners Can Add New Claims, But Not Defendants

MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Three homeowners who purchased allegedly defective manufactured homes from the same builder can add new claims for negligence, negligence per se and a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) but cannot add new defendants because the requirements of necessary and permissive joinder are not met, an Oklahoma federal judge found in adopting a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation.
January 31, 2024
California Panel Says Homeowner’s Online Posts Against Contractor Are Not Protected

LOS ANGELES — A homeowner’s online posts criticizing repair work performed by a general contractor are not protected by litigation privilege because the posts had no substantial relationship to any litigation, a California panel found in affirming the trial court’s decision to deny the homeowner’s motion to strike the contractor’s complaint for libel.
January 31, 2024
In Utah, Developer Sues Builder For Poor Construction Of Residential Project

OGDEN, Utah — In Utah state court, a real estate developer alleges that a now-defunct construction company failed to properly build two residential buildings and violated applicable building codes by failing to use correct lumber, among other issues.
January 22, 2024
Texas Panel Finds Subsequent Homeowners Must Arbitrate Mold Growth Claims

HOUSTON — Citing two recent opinions from the state Supreme Court, a Texas panel found that subsequent owners of a home that allegedly suffers from mold growth caused by defective construction and design must arbitrate their claims against the homebuilder under the terms of the home’s original purchase agreement, despite being nonsignatories to that contract, because their breach of implied warranty claims do not stand independent of the contract.
January 26, 2024
In Roofing Dispute, Florida Panel Says Trial Court Erred In Entering Default

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A trial court erred in entering default judgment against a roofing contractor that allegedly performed defective roofing work on a home because the contractor’s counsel filed a notice of appearance before the default judgment was entered, a Florida panel found in reversing and remanding the trial court’s judgment.
January 26, 2024
Vermont Judge Enters Judgment In Favor Of Homeowner Who Received Defective Deck

NEWPORT, Vt. — A Vermont judge found that a homeowner was entitled to a final judgment in his favor on breach of contract claims brought against a husband and wife who held themselves out to be general contractors because the deck the couple built was defective in multiple ways and did not meet the homeowner’s specifications.
January 24, 2024
Alabama Supreme Court Orders Transfer Of Construction Defects Case

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A trial court erred in denying a motion to transfer a case in which a couple alleged that the previous owners of their home failed to properly construct the home because in such cases venue is proper only in the county where the property is located, the Alabama Supreme Court found in granting a petition for writ of mandamus filed by the previous owners.
January 23, 2024
Builder Appeals Order Finding Claims Against Dissolved Contractor Were Time-Barred

RENO, Nev. — A builder that allegedly failed to properly construct a large distribution center has appealed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a Nevada federal court order finding that its cross-claims for indemnification and contribution against a subcontractor that worked on the project are time-barred by statute because the subcontractor itself was dissolved more than three years before the claims against it were filed.
January 19, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms Remand Of Class Action Mold Dispute As A Local Controversy

NEW ORLEANS — Under the Class Action Fairness Act’s (CAFA) local controversy exception, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a trial court’s order remanding a putative class dispute in which a homebuilder is alleged to have defectively constructed a large number of homes in Louisiana.