Construction Defects

Architects and Other Design Professionals May Be Liable for Damages from Construction Defects A California Appellate Court reversed a trial court’s ruling in favor of an architectural firm that had been sued by a homeowners association for damages resulting from alleged construction defects. A homeowners association brought suit against the ...

Colorado Court Rules HOA Must Arbitrate Construction Defect Claims Against Original Developer This case was an action seeking damages for construction defects that was filed by a condominium homeowners association (“Association”) against the project’s original developer / declarant who established Association. As originally drafted, the Association’s declaration contained a provision ...

HOAs Must Take Timely Action on Claims for Construction Defects Due to the nature of construction, it typically takes a significant period of time for property owners and users to become aware of problems and conditions that may be related to defects in design, materials and/or workmanship related to the ...

Homeowners Association's Lawsuit Against Developer for Construction Defects Subject to Binding Arbitration Per Governing Documents The State Supreme Court in California reversed a trial court and an appellate court’s rulings in favor of a homeowners association that sued the developers of the project for damages caused by construction defects. The ...

Homeowners Can Employ Derivative Actions When Their Board Refuses to Pursue Claims Frequently homeowners in common interest developments that are controlled by homeowners associations find that their board of directors is unwilling to take legal action that the homeowners want to have pursued. An area where this issue is often ...

Iowa Sup Ct Rules Foreclosing Lender Cannot Sue Builder for Claims Based on Implied Warranty In this case, a bank acquired title to an apartment complex by accepting a deed in lieu of foreclosure. The bank subsequently discovered that the property was mold-infested and filed suit against the builder of ...

Making HOA Decisions to Repair or to Delay Repairs to Pursue Construction Defect Claims When an association has a duty to maintain and repair components that are defective, the question often arises when there are alleged construction defects relating to the components in question as to whether or not the ...

Michigan Ct. Says HOA Assessment to Fund Construction Defect Litigation was Invalid This case involved a dispute between a homeowners association (“Association”) and husband and wife owners of a condominium (“Owners”) over the validity of a $3,000 assessment levied on all owners to fund a construction defect lawsuit that the ...

Nevada Sup Ct Clarifies Who Must Receive Statutory Prelitigation Notice Re Construction Defects After homeowners found allegedly defective plumbing parts in their residences, they provided a prelitigation notice (required by NRS Chapter 40) to the general contractor / developer, who then forwarded the notice to numerous subcontractors and suppliers that ...

Ohio Ct Stays Homeowners' Class Action Lawsuit and Orders Arbitration of Construction Defect Claims Homeowners filed a class action lawsuit against a builder seeking damages for alleged design defects in their homes relating to the roofing systems. The homeowners contended that the defects resulted in serious water intrusion, structural damage ...

Oregon Ct. Says HOA Had Six Years from Discovery to File Action for Construction Defects A homeowners association brought suit against the original developer and general contractor for damages resulting from alleged faulty construction. The homeowners association alleged claims based on theories of negligence during the construction of the condominiums, ...

Project's Principal Architect Owes Duty To Future Homeowners Even If Client Makes Ultimate Decisions A homeowners association sued a the project developer and various other parties including two architectural firms on behalf of its members over construction design defects that allegedly make the homes unsafe and uninhabitable. The architectural firms ...

S.C. Court Articulates Damages POA was Entitled to Recover in Construction Defect Litigation South Carolina Appellate Court decision (August 2, 2017) This case involved claims by a property owners association (“POA”) for defective construction of a 36 unit condominium project. Claims alleged by the POA included damages for: (i) failure ...

Texas Court Says HOA Has No Duty to Disclose Latent Defects to Prospective Home Buyer Plaintiffs in this action purchased property located in a common interest development that had an “equalizer channel” underneath the improvements on the property that was not disclosed. Prior to closing the sale, the homeowners association ...

The "Catch-22" of HOA Construction Defect Litigation The dictionary defines "catch-22" as "a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions." In many respects, a “catch-22” situation is inherent in HOA construction defects litigation. This often becomes apparent after a construction ...