construction defect litigation

February 12, 2021

Ruling Clarifies What Constitutes Construction of Property Improvement Under Florida’s Statute of Repose for Defect Claims

by B. Michael Clark, Jr.

B. Michael Clark, Jr.

A 2019 Florida appellate court ruling in a case against a homebuilder alleging negligent construction of an attic ladder provided added clarity over what constitutes the construction of an improvement to real property under the state’s statute of repose law.

In James Harrell v. The Ryland Group, the First District Court of Appeal considered an appeal of a final summary judgment entered in favor of Ryland over the applicability of the 10-year statute of repose and whether the homebuilder failed to establish that the period of repose had run.

The case originally stemmed from injuries sustained by Harrell when the attic ladder he was climbing at his home collapsed. His lawsuit alleged that the homebuilder was negligent “by failing to ensure that the attic ladder was installed in a secure manner with the appropriate hardware” and “by failing to verify that the ladder was secure before selling the home.”

The builder filed a motion to dismiss, arguing in part that the claim was barred by the 10-year statute of repose of section 95.11(3)(c), Florida Statutes. The trial court found that the statute is applicable because an attic ladder is an improvement to real property, but it denied the motion because it was not clear from the face of the complaint whether the suit was filed before the expiration of the 10-year period.

February 5, 2021

Surety Can Use Defaulting General Contractor to Complete Project Without Owner’s Concurrence

by B. Michael Clark, Jr.

B. Michael Clark, Jr.

When a property owner finds defects in its general contractor’s work, declares the contractor to be in default and terminates the construction contract, perhaps the last thing it expects is to be forced to rely on the defaulting contractor to complete the project. Yet that is exactly what happened to a Marathon, Fla. condominium association after the provider of its surety bond elected to retain the original contractor to complete the project.

In Seawatch at Marathon Condominium Association v. The Guarantee Company of North America et al., the Florida Keys condominium association retained Complete Aluminum General Contractors for a $5.4 million construction contract for extensive renovations to the community’s three condominium buildings (pictured here). The Guarantee Company of North America executed a surety bond to secure CAGC’s performance under the contract for the association.

When the association discovered defects in the renovations, it declared the contractor in default and terminated the contract. It then requested Guarantee to promptly exercise one of its options pursuant to the performance bond.

January 25, 2017

Lindsey Thurswell Lehr Authors Article in Today’s Daily Business Review: “Ruling Reinforces Need to Abide by Contracts in Construction Disputes”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

The firm’s Lindsey Thurswell Lehr authored a guest column that appeared in the “Board of Contributors” page of today’s Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper. The article, which was titlted “Ruling Reinforces Need to Abide by Contracts in Construction Disputes,” focused on a recent Florida appellate court ruling finding that property owners which forgo the contractual mechanisms for resolving construction disputes will not prevail in the state’s courts. Her article reads:

Strictly adhering to the modus operandi for addressing and resolving disputes that is codified in construction contracts is essential to prevailing in any resulting litigation.

The Florida Third District Court of Appeal recently reinforced the obligation of construction defect litigants to adhere to the terms of their contract, finding that property owners which forgo the contractual mechanisms for resolving disputes will not succeed in Florida’s courts.

The ruling by the Third DCA in the case of Magnum Construction Management v. City of Miami Beach relieved the contractor of liability for alleged safety concerns with a playground that it installed at the city’s South Pointe Park. The appellate panel ruled that the city did not give the contractor the opportunity to fix the purported issues with the playground as required under its contract. Instead, the court stated that the city replaced the playground in its entirety without considering that the safety concerns could have been corrected by the contractor.

The court’s decision in this case reinforces the importance of abiding by all contract terms and requirements in construction disputes. Construction contracts often allow the contractor which performed the work to have the opportunity to fix and cure any purported problems and defects. If a property owner ignores this contractual stipulation, as the city of Miami Beach appears to have done in this case, Florida’s courts are very likely to rule against them.

September 1, 2016

Article on Firm’s Case in Today’s Daily Business Review: “Caribbean Construction Firm Scores $4M Judgment”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

Firm partners Steven M. Siegfried, Stuart Sobel and Berenice M. Mottin-Berger were featured in an article about their work on behalf of one of the firm’s construction clients that appeared in today’s Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper. The report, which was titled “Caribbean Construction Firm Scores $4M Judgment,” chronicles the highly contentious litigation and arbitration that led their securing a $4.3 million judgment against DeVry Education Group (NYSE: DV) for Moorjani Caribbean Ltd., a Barbados-based construction company. The article reads:

Coral Gables lawyers won a $4.3 million award against a subsidiary of for-profit college company DeVry Education Group in what they say was one of the nastiest arbitration battles they’ve ever fought.

Barbados-based construction company Moorjani Caribbean Ltd. sued over alleged underpayment for the construction of student housing and classroom projects at DeVry’s St. Kitts veterinary school.

Although both parties admitted some aspects of their work relationship was relaxed, with unsigned contracts and loose deadlines, the father-and-son construction company claimed it submitted detailed accounting for both projects and spent years trying to get payment before filing suit.

DeVry Medical International Inc. fought back with counterclaims, alleging it spent more than $1 million fixing design and construction defects in Moorjani Caribbean’s work on the student housing project.

But arbitrators found DeVry made improvements to the residence hall so that it could qualify as a place of refuge during a hurricane, not because of deficient construction.

By the time the 2009 bills for the two projects came to the arbitration panel this year, interest and attorney fees made the award much larger than it might have been, Moorjani Caribbean’s lawyers said. Interest on the award continues to grow at a rate of about $593 per day, according to the Aug. 19 final arbitration award.