In L’Oreal USA, Inc. v. Burroughs, 372 Ga. App. 30, 2024 Ga. App. LEXIS 250, the Court of Appeals of Georgia (Appellate Court) considered whether Georgia’s ten-year statute of repose for products liability precluded strict...more
Georgia’s product liability statute of repose requires actions to be commenced within 10 years of “the date of the first sale for use or consumption” of the product at issue. OCGA § 51-1-11(b)(2) (emphasis added). While the...more
Statutes of repose serve as substantive outer limits on product liability claims after a certain time period following the product’s sale or use, potentially providing a complete defense in some jurisdictions and a rebuttable...more
The grace period for claims that would have been viable under Florida’s 10-year statute of repose, but were no longer viable after Florida shortened the statute of repose to 7 years, is quickly approaching its expiration. On...more
Warranties provided to project owners are often some of the most-negotiated provisions in a construction contract. What will the warranties cover? How can they be enforced? Perhaps most importantly: how long will they be...more
While Colorado struggles with an ongoing housing supply deficit and potential buyers grapple with interest rate resistant prices and higher costs of borrowing, local and state governments are entertaining all kinds of...more
Johnson v. Toll Brothers, Inc., 302 A.3d 1231 (Pa. Super. 2023) - This matter concerned claims of defective construction by the plaintiff against defendant for a home built in 2004. The plaintiff’s suit was filed after the...more
The Pennsylvania Statute of Repose for Improvements to Real Property, 42 Pa. C.S. § 5536 (PA Statute of Repose) is a powerful tool that provides protections to persons lawfully performing or furnishing the design, planning,...more
Welcome to our second issue of 2024 for our construction industry insights - The Site Report. Business today is characterized by relentless change. To assist our clients in navigating this dynamic landscape, we pride...more
Statutes of limitations and statutes of repose, when applicable, can provide time-based defenses that will bar a complaint filed against contractors and design professionals, whether the claim is based in contract or in...more
On December 28, 2023 the Supreme Court of Ohio finally put to rest the issue of whether the statute of repose for medical claims applies to wrongful death claims, answering the long-discussed question in the affirmative....more
In residential construction, the recent legislative amendments to Chapter 27 of the Texas Property Code (the Residential Construction Liability Act or the “RCLA”) have garnered significant attention in the industry, and...more
Brief Summary - The plaintiff, Comprehensive Marketing, Inc. ("plaintiff"), filed a lawsuit against its former attorneys ("defendants") for legal malpractice related to legal advice the defendants provided regarding opt-out...more
It’s a contractor’s worst nightmare: someone you haven’t heard from in ages, or ever, sues you, claiming a defect in the construction you performed years ago. But when is it too late to bring such a claim? You may think that...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives, and the legal system is no exception. Court hearings went from being in-person to virtual, and court dockets swelled as cases were postponed. In 2023, the legal...more
In an unpublished opinion from the Pennsylvania Superior Court handed down on August 31, 2023, a long-standing disagreement about the wording of Pennsylvania's Statute of Repose was finally resolved. In Pennsylvania, “a civil...more
On July 13, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a putative class action asserting claims against a poultry producer and certain of its officers under Section 10(b) of the...more
HB 2024 - Statute of Repose Shortened to Six Years if a Builder Provides a Warranty - A statute of repose is the outside deadline for a claimant to bring a legal action. For nearly 50 years, Texas has imposed a ten-year...more
On April 13, 2023, governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 360 (“SB 360”) into law, which drastically reduces the time limit for property owners to file suit against builders and construction professionals for construction...more
On April 13, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill No. 360 (the Act), an act that affords greater protection from suits to members of Florida's construction industry. The Act amends § 95.11, Florida Statutes,...more
On April 11, Governor Wes Moore signed into law the Child Victims Act of 2023, which permits survivors of child sexual abuse to file a civil lawsuit at any time, repealing both the current statute of limitations and the...more
On April 13, 2023, and as part of other recent tort reform measures implemented in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 360 into law. This most recent bill makes changes to, among other laws, Florida Statute...more
Senate Bill 360, which was signed by Governor DeSantis on April 13, 2023, amends the statute of limitations and statute of repose for construction claims and amends the statutory building code violation claim. The statute...more
On April 7, 2023, New Mexico’s governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, signed into law New Mexico’s Right to Repair Act (Act), 2023 N.M. SB 50. The Act’s effective date is July 1, 2023. The Act applies to construction defects in...more
On April 13, 2023, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed into law SB 360 which, among other things, shortens the statute of repose period for improvements to real property. The law also revises the date on which the...more