Last week, in part one of this primer on Residential Construction Defect Law, I discussed the topic generally. Monday’s part two discussed types of construction defects. Part three covered legal theories of Construction Defect Law and Litigation. Today’s topic:
How to Avoid Losing Your Claims
Most states impose time limits on construction defect claims by Statutes of repose and Statutes of limitations. Statutes of repose specify the time period within which a cause of action can arise at all. Under these statutes, the limitation period may expire before the plaintiff’s cause of action has arisen. Conversely, statutes of limitation foreclose suits after a fixed period of time following occurrence or discovery of an injury. These statues are complex and vary from state to state. It is critical that you seek the advice of an experienced attorney if you believe the damages to your home are the result of a construction defect before you lose your right to seek a remedy from the responsible parties.
In most states the time limits begin to run when the defect is discovered, or should have been discovered by a reasonable person. If the defect is patent, or apparent based on reasonable inspection, the action against a defendant must begin within the time period specified by state law. If the defect is latent, or not readily apparent by reasonable inspection, any action to recover damages generally must be within ten years after improvements are substantially completed.
Read more on the Statute of Limitations and the Statute of Ultimate Repose here.
The attorneys at Slinde Nelson have decades of experience dealing with these and similar construction related issues.