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Construction Law Authority / Legislation (Page 4)

Common Law Implied Warranties and SB 1196

January 19, 2012
Sanjay Kurian
Cases, Legislation

With the legislative session in full swing it appears that  SB 1196 and its companion HB 1013, are being pushed to wipe out common law implied warranties relating to residential construction.  These bills are reaction to the recent opinion in Lakeview Reserve Homeowners v. Maronda Homes, Inc., 48 So. 3d 902 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010). As noted previously, these bills: -        - would negatively impact homeowner associations, condominiums, co-ops, timeshares and mobile home parks as the term “home” is an all-encompassing term. -        - Ignores the fact that most new residential dwellings are built in planned communities -        -  Expose homeowners to liability to repair defective construction and design for which they have no recourse -       - Homeowners who fail to pay their assessments for these repairs can have their homes foreclosed upon -       - Will result in homeowners being stuck with shoddy construction with no remedy SB 1196 has been noticed for public hearing before the community affairs committee on Monday January 23, 2012, at 10am,...

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New Year Brings Potential CCNA Change

January 5, 2012
William J. Cea
Legislation, Procurement

Florida Statutes, Section 287.055, known as the Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act ("CCNA"), provides a framework for the public procurement of professional services. Professional services are defined to include those services "within the practice of architecture, professional engineering, landscape architecture, or registered surveying and mapping". The CCNA provides that the price of the service is not a factor in the evaluation and ranking of the firms. Price may only be considered as part of the negotiation phase. Further, an agency is limited to negotiating price with one firm at a time. In other words, the only pricing that is received is from the top ranked firm, and pricing from the second ranked firm is not received unless negotiations with the first firm are formally terminated. There is a Bill pending in the Florida Legislature that would modify the above process. Specifically, Senate Bill No. 246 provides for proposed amendments to the CCNA, including...

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New Year Brings Potential CCNA Change

January 5, 2012
William J. Cea
Legislation, Procurement

Florida Statutes, Section 287.055, known as the Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act ("CCNA"), provides a framework for the public procurement of professional services. Professional services are defined to include those services "within the practice of architecture, professional engineering, landscape architecture, or registered surveying and mapping". The CCNA provides that the price of the service is not a factor in the evaluation and ranking of the firms. Price may only be considered as part of the negotiation phase. Further, an agency is limited to negotiating price with one firm at a time. In other words, the only pricing that is received is from the top ranked firm, and pricing from the second ranked firm is not received unless negotiations with the first firm are formally terminated. There is a Bill pending in the Florida Legislature that would modify the above process. Specifically, Senate Bill No. 246 provides for proposed amendments to the CCNA, including...

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Common Law Implied Warranties and Strict Liability

January 4, 2012
Sanjay Kurian
Cases, Legislation

As the new year begins, and the legislative session draws near, the issue of common law implied warranties and the recent opinion in Lakeview Reserve Homeowners v. Maronda Homes, Inc., 48 So. 3d 902 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010), remain on the legislative agenda. Concerns are being raised as to whether Maronda creates a cause of action for “strict liability” against developers with regard to construction defect claims for improvements to subdivision common areas. For the reasons below it is my opinion that it does not and that my prior analysis as to why SB 1196 is a bad bill for homeowners remains accurate.    Under the existing case law, an implied warranty of fitness and merchantability: - extends to the purchase of new homes, Gable v. Silver, 258 So. 2d 11 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972);  - means that a home will be constructed in accordance with the specifications contained in the building plans filed with and approved by...

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Legislative Proposal Could Wipe Out Common Area Warranties

December 14, 2011
Sanjay Kurian
Legislation

Reacting to the Fifth District Court of Appeal's decision in Lakeview Reserve Homeowners v. Maronda Homes, 48 So. 3d 902 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010), discussed here, the legislature may consider a bill next year to prohibit implied warranties of fitness and merchantability from applying to streets, roads, sidewalks, drainage areas, utilities, or any other improvements that are not located on or under the lot on which a new home is constructed.  Senate Bill 1196 is the legislative bill that was proposed and can be found here.  The Lakeview case was appealed to the Florida Supreme Court and the oral argument was made just last week but the legislature may be moving forward without waiting for the court to rule. The bill is a bad deal for homeowner's for a number of reasons.  First, the proposed statute is not limited to Chapter 720 homeowner’s associations. As worded the limitations would negatively impact homeowner associations, condominiums, co-ops, timeshares and mobile home parks as the term...

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The False Claims Act – Did You Know?

August 9, 2011
webmaster
Legislation

Did you know that the False Claims Act, see, 31 USC §§ 3729-3733 is a federal law that allows individuals who are not affiliated with the government to file lawsuits against federal contractors who are believed to have committed fraud in submitting claims to our government? This is also commonly referred to as "whistle blowing."...

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