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LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Construction Defects Legal News
Headline Construction Defects Legal News from LexisNexis®

• Later Owners Of Nevada Homes May Sue Builder, State High Court Says
  CARSON CITY, Nev. - Subsequent owners of residences may pursue construction defect claims against their builder under state law, the Nevada Supreme Court held Sept. 25 in denying a writ of mandamus to a subcontractor (ANSE, Inc. d/b/a Nevada State Plastering v. Judge Allan R. Earl, Eighth Judicial District Court of Clark County, Nevada [Glen Hayward, et al., real parties in interest]), No. 51049, Nev. Sup.; See June 2008, Page 6). Full story on lexis.com
• CC&Rs Not Contracts, Can't Waive Jury Trial Rights, Panel Holds
  SAN DIEGO - Despite containing language agreeing to alternative resolution of disputes with the project's developer, a condominium owners association's covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) are insufficient under California law to waive the association's constitutional right to a jury trial, a state appellate panel held Sept. 12 in voiding a trial court's order sending the case to a judicial referee (Treo @ Kettner Homeowners Association v. The Superior Court of San Diego County [Intergulf Construction Corp. et al., Real Parties in Interest]), No. D052402, Calif. App., 4th Dist., Div. 1; 2008 Cal. App. LEXIS 1420). Full story on lexis.com
• Reports, Invoices Equal Written Contract, Washington Panel Holds
  SEATTLE - The reports and invoices prepared by a building inspection firm contain the essential elements of a contract and may be treated as such for purposes of determining the applicable statute of limitations on a contract-based construction defect claim, a panel of the Washington Division I Court of Appeals held Sept. 2, affirming the court below (Grand View Homes LLC v. Cascade Testing Laboratory, Inc., No. 60217-9-I, Wash. App., Div. I; 2008 Wash. App. LEXIS 2172). Full story on lexis.com
• Repose Law Not Tolled By Prior Suits, Arizona Federal Judge Says
  PHOENIX - Trying to untangle a complex knot of related construction defect lawsuits, an Arizona federal judge on Sept. 9 granted partial summary judgment to contractors involved in the building and sale of dozens of allegedly defective homes (Alfred Albano, et al. v. Shea Homes LP, et al., Nos. 2:07cv02359 & 2:08cv00505, D. Ariz.; See September 2008, Page 14). Full story on lexis.com
• Court Says Manifest Disregard Axed As Arbitration Reversal Ground
  MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Manifest disregard of the law is no longer a valid ground to overturn an arbitrator's decision under the federal statute governing arbitration in light of recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the Alabama Supreme Court concluded Sept. 5 in affirming summary judgment in favor of a home builder (Sherry Gay Hereford v. D.R. Horton Inc., No. 1070396, Ala. Sup.; 2008 Ala. LEXIS 186). Full story on lexis.com
• Panel: Federal Judge Rightly Denied State Court Ruling Review
  NEW ORLEANS - A Louisiana state court had the authority to rule on a contractor's motion to compel arbitration between itself and a subcontractor, and a federal district court correctly found that it was without jurisdiction to review the state court's decision after it rose to the state Supreme Court level, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Sept. 24 (MAPP Construction LLC v. M&R Drywall, Inc., No. 08-30420, 5th Cir.; 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 20385). Full story on lexis.com
• Subcontractor Asks Texas High Court To Stand By Repose Law
  AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Supreme Court must reverse an appellate court decision that erased the fundamental distinction between statutes of limitations and statutes of repose, a subcontractor that was designated as a responsible third party in a construction defects suit over water intrusion argues (Galbraith Engineering Consultants, Inc. v. Sam and Jean Pochucha, No. 07-1051, Texas Sup.; See October 2007, Page 17). Full story on lexis.com
• No Proof Of Unconscionability In Warranty Waivers, Judge Finds
  SAN DIEGO - Homeowners who sued their builder over what they said were significant drainage issues failed to show a genuine fact question as to whether the implied warranty waivers contained in the agreements they signed when purchasing their homes were unconscionable, a California judge held Sept. 22 in dismissing the implied warranty claims of all but one plaintiff (Philip M. Spencer, et al. v. Kaufman & Broad, Inc., et al., No. GIC850685; William R. Cannon, et al. v. Kaufman & Broad, Inc., et al., No. GIC852956, Calif. Super., San Diego Co.). Full story on lexis.com
• Special Master To California Federal Judge: Settlement On Tap
  FRESNO, Calif. - A global settlement has been reached in a case in California in which a general contractor has been mostly frustrated in its attempts to press its subcontractors into indemnifying it against the claims of the plaintiff (C. International Corp. v. Turner Construction Co., et al., No. 2:05cv01945, E.D. Calif.; See July 2006, Page 12).