Florida construction defect statute of repose Tag Archives

Florida’s ten-year deadline for lawsuits over hidden/latent construction defect claims, dubbed the “statute of repose,” has been in the spotlight recently, thanks to a controversial bill that was introduced in the state legislature. SB 736 would have reduced the deadline for certain claims to seven years, continuing a trend that began in 2006 when the repose period was lowered from fifteen years to ten.

A ruling by Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal focused on issues surrounding the determination of the trigger date for the start of the period of repose. The unanimous opinion reversed the lower court’s summary judgment in a case stemming from a construction defects lawsuit brought by the Spring Isle Community Association against Pulte Home Corporation.

Pulte, the developer of the 71 building, 390 townhome community in Spring Isle, Fla., was accused of construction defects related to the buildings’ exteriors and roofs. It filed a third-party complaint against several subcontractors, and the trial court found that the statute of repose barred its claims against one of the largest subcontractors on more than 80 percent of the townhomes.

Pulte appealed the trial court’s decision, and the association was substituted as the appellant.

In its appeal, the Spring Isle association argued that the repose period began when the master contract between Pulte and the subcontractor in question was completed, and also when all other townhome construction contracts were completed, which occurred less than ten years prior to the filing of Pulte’s third-party complaint.

A 2015 opinion by the Fifth District Court of Appeal had significant ramifications for the application of the statute of repose in construction defect cases. In response to the uncertainty created by the ruling, Florida lawmakers have introduced a bill to clarify one the trigger dates for the tolling of the statute of repose.

In Cypress Fairway Condominium v. Bergeron Construction Co., the condominium association brought suit on February 2, 2011 on behalf of the condominium, and as assignee of claims held by the general contractor, for recovery of more than $15 million in damages caused by construction defects. Da Pau Enterprises, Inc., the only remaining defendant after other parties reached settlements, moved to dismiss and/or for summary judgment against the association, alleging that the statute of repose expired three days prior to the date the litigation commenced.

The statute of repose in Section 95.11(3)(c) provides that actions for latent construction defects must commence within 10 years of the last of the following four events:

the date of actual possession by the owner;
the date of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy;
the date of abandonment of construction if not completed; or
the date of completion or termination of the contract between the professional engineer, registered architect or licensed contractor and their employer.

At issue was the last of the four trigger events under Section 95.11(3)(c). The defendant argued that the statute of repose commenced the date the contractor submitted its Final Application for Payment on January 31, 2001, which represented the “completion of construction.” However, the association contended that the repose period did not begin until the date final payment was actually paid by the owner on February 2, 2001, which represented the date of the “completion of contract.” The trial court disagreed with the association and granted summary judgment to the defendant, dismissing its claims.

The Fifth DCA reversed, reasoning that the unambiguous statutory language of Section 95.11(3)(c) required the completion of performance of the contract by both parties, and not just the completion of the performance of the contractor’s duties under the contract. The appellate panel concluded that the statute of repose was not triggered upon completion of construction. It found that the final act for the “completion of the contract” was final payment, and not three days earlier when the Final Application for Payment was submitted.

Articles Tagged with Florida construction defect statute of repose

Appellate Ruling Reinforces Importance of Documentation for 10-Year Limit on Construction Defect Suits

Bill Aims to Clarify Statute of Repose Trigger for Construction Defect Disputes