Key Lease Work Letter Issues When the Landlord Is Doing the Work
Law Brief®: David Pfeffer and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Legal Implications of Infrastructure Collapses
Contractual Notice Requirements: Do You Really Need Them?
Construction Defects: Lessons Learned
California Court of Appeal Opens Doors for Construction Defect Claims Outside of the Right to Repair Act
In New Jersey (and virtually all other states), construction defect cases for common interest community associations are heavily reliant on expert witnesses. Even if a building system is obviously defective — in that windows...more
While the starting point for assessing an insurer’s duty to defend requires comparing the allegations contained within a complaint to the language contained within the insured’s policy, the majority of states require an...more
Have you ever wondered when Massachusetts’ 6-year statute of repose for defective design, planning and construction is triggered when dealing with the construction of a multi-building, multi-year condominium construction...more
Imagine the following. A developer consults with an architect in 2020 about a six-building condominium project. The architect promptly produces a set of plans, which are stamped by an engineer. Over the next three years, the...more
In Hershey v. Mount Vernon Partners, LLC, Judge Green faced dueling motions to dismiss in a dispute arising from the purchase of an “ultra-luxury” condominium in Beacon Hill. Judge Green granted Brett Hershey’s motion, in...more
The Massachusetts Statute of Repose requires litigants to assert within six years all tort claims arising out of the design, construction, or administration of improvements to real property. The Statute begins to run upon the...more
Florida’s Statute of Limitations and Statute of Repose for construction and design defect claims are each contained in § 95.11(3)(c), Florida Statutes, which provides, in relevant part: We are frequently retained by...more
The Washington Legislature wrapped up its 2019 session by enacting much-anticipated reform to the condominium implied construction warranties. The warranty reform bill also included important clarifications of the application...more
A Texas court recently affirmed the dismissal of construction defect claims by a residential condominium unit owners’ association because it lacked standing to assert claims against the developer, general contractor, and...more
In recent years, a few law firms have made a cottage industry of enticing condominium home owners associations to sue the project developers over many issues, very often for alleged construction defects. Numerous homeowners’...more
Both houses of the Maryland General Assembly have passed legislation that would prevent condominium developers from including provisions in the project’s governing documents that limit the ability of unit owners to bring...more
A recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision held that condominium developers cannot create a condominium that “makes it extraordinarily difficult or even impossible for the trustees to initiate any litigation...more
Both the Senate and House of Delegates are considering legislation that would preclude a condominium developer from including provisions in the community’s governing documents or the sales contracts that limit the ability of...more
Addison Ins. Co. v. 4000 Island Blvd. Condo. Ass’n, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 26870 (11th Cir. Dec. 28, 2017) - The owner of a high-rise condominium building in Florida hired a contractor to replace the building’s concrete...more
In Altman Contractors, Inc. v. Crum & Forster Specialty Ins. Co., 832 F.3d 1318 (11th Cir. 2016), the Eleventh Circuit certified the following question to the Florida Supreme Court: "Is the notice and repair process set forth...more
In Trustees of Cambridge Point Condominium Trust v. Cambridge Point, LLC, No. MICV-2014-03136, 2016 WL 9753783 (Mass. Super. Nov. 18, 2016), appeal argued, SJC No. 2017-P-0113 (Mass. 2017), the trustees (“Trustees”) of the...more
New Jersey courts are continuing their trend of extending insurance coverage for third-party construction defect claims. Following last year’s NJ Supreme Court decision in Cypress Point Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Adria Towers,...more
The First Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal recently confirmed California’s latent defect statute of limitations, codified in California Code of Civil Procedure section 337.15, bars only claims based on...more
In recent years, very few condominium projects have been developed in Minnesota despite strong demand from potential condominium homeowners. Many developers attribute their reluctance to build condominiums to litigation risk...more
Condominium construction in Minnesota has dramatically slowed since its peak from 2003 through 2006. Most developers have elected to build apartments instead of condominiums. This imbalance has been partly driven by the...more
On June 5, 2017, the Colorado Supreme Court gave developers and contractors another reason to consider jumping back into the condominium construction market. By upholding the Colorado Court of Appeals decision in the Vallagio...more
Colorado developers frequently cite Colorado’s Construction Defect Action Reform Act (CDARA) as an obstacle to building new condominiums in the state. Developers contend that the law makes it too easy for condo boards to sue...more
The Maryland Senate failed to vote on SB 670, which would prevent condominium developers from limiting the ability of the council of unit owners and individual unit owners to bring claims for building defect issues. The...more
The Colorado General Assembly is heading towards the conclusion of this year’s legislative session. Although one construction defect bill, House Bill 1279, passed the House and is expected to pass the Senate, most bills have...more
By a vote of 136-0, the Maryland House of Delegates approved a bill to protect condominium owners’ rights with regard to bringing construction defect claims against the project’s developer. House Bill 676 would prevent...more