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Construction Law Authority / Posts tagged "construction defect"

2015 Florida Construction Legislation Update

April 29, 2015
Sanjay Kurian
Construction Defects, Legislation, Litigation, Public Construction

The regular Florida legislative session is almost concluded.  The House adjourned on Tuesday and the Senate is in session until Friday.  A special session to address the state budget is expected but not yet set.  I previously addressed two construction related bills being considered this year: HB 87/SB418 related to construction defects, as noted here, and HB 501/SB 1158 related to shortening the statute of repose from 10 years to 7 years, as noted here. The Chapter 558 bill, HB 87, was amended to address many of the concerns raised in my prior blog post.  The amended bill passed the House on a vote of 112 to 0. The House bill was substituted for the “companion” Senate bill, SB 418, and passed 35-4.  The bill will be sent to the Governor for his consideration. The Governor will have 7 days to veto, sign or allow the bill to become law without...

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Proposed Legislation to change Chapter 558

February 4, 2015
Sanjay Kurian
Construction Defects, Legislation, Litigation, Public Construction

The Legislature will be considering legislation this year to change Chapter 558, Florida Statutes.  Chapter 558 is  required process for any party seeking to pursue claims for construction defects.  The original goal of Chapter 558 was to provide an opportunity to settle defect claims without litigation or arbitration, and not to create another source of dispute or litigation.  This bill is contrary to that original intent. The proposed bill would create new rights and defeats any realistic hope to amicably resolve claims as more fully explained below.  These changes, if enacted, will negatively impact all owners of construction improvements including hospitals, doctor's offices, school buildings, condominiums, single family homes and commercial buildings.  The proposed legislation can be found here and the specific problems are noted below. Lines 66-76: Requiring the notice to specify the location of each alleged defect is impossible relative to any structure of any size.  To require a claimant...

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Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Repair Estimates When Evaluating Your Construction Defect Claim

February 8, 2013
Michele Ammendola
Construction Defects

Investigating and placing potentially responsible parties on notice about the existence of construction or design defects against Developers, Contractors or Design Professionals in accordance with Chapter 558, Florida Statutes, is an important part of the claims process. As their defect claims progress, Individual Property Owners and Condominium Associations may need professional assistance from their attorneys and design consultants in calculating the potential costs to correct construction or design defects. There are many other reasons why Owners or Associations would want to obtain repair proposals or estimates. For example, while repair estimates may help Owners and Associations budget for repairs, they may also help Owners and Associations to prioritize their claims for settlement purposes. Repair estimates enable Owners and Associations to identify any defects they may wish to withdraw from their Ch. 558 pre-litigation construction defects claims, or from litigation, during the course of settlement negotiations. When negotiating a...

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What Developers and Contractors Need to Know About Destructive Testing

January 18, 2012
Michele Ammendola
Construction Defects

  Chapter 558 Fla. Stats. is Florida’s pre-suit notice and right to cure procedure, which applies before property owners may assert a claim against a developer, contractor, subcontractor or design professional for construction and design defects. It expressly provides for “destructive testing” of the defective areas of the property via written request and mutual agreement.  Destructive testing may be performed to refute the existence of defects. Examples of destructive testing may include such things as removing drywall, stucco, or other components to view the hidden conditions beneath it. At a minimum, a developer or contractor’s request for destructive testing should describe: (i) who is performing the testing, (ii) the anticipated testing methods and locations, (iii) the estimated anticipated damage and repairs to or restoration of the property resulting from the testing, (iv) the estimated amount of time necessary for the testing and to complete any repairs or restoration, and (v) who will bear...

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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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