Subsequent Owners of Homes Again Have Right to Sue Builders for Construction Defects
October 07, 2016 —
Mark L. Parisi – White and Williams LLPOwners of homes with damage from construction defects have long had the standing to sue the builders of their homes using the legal theories of 1) breach of contract, 2) breach of implied warranty, and 3) breach of Pennsylvania’s consumer fraud statute, the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL).
Before the 2014 decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Conway v. Cutler, even owners who were not the original purchasers of their homes, so-called subsequent owners, had a right to sue the builder of their homes using implied warranty as the legal theory. But the Supreme Court in Conway said in 2014 that even though an implied warranty theory is not based on a written contract, it is a quasi contract theory and because subsequent owners never had a contractual relationship with the builder of their home, the implied warranty cause of action was not available. Subsequent purchasers were thus left without a remedy for damage from defective construction in their homes and builders had a second safe harbor from claims regarding homes they built. The first safe harbor is Pennsylvania’s Statute of Repose. If the home was completed more than 12 years before a lawsuit was filed, the Statute of Repose bars the claim. But after Conway, if the home was sold, this also cut off a builder’s potential liability for construction defects in the home.
ENTER THE UTPCPL
On July 26, 2016 the Pennsylvania Superior Court in the case of Adams v. Hellings Builders issued a non-published (and therefore non-precedential) decision in a stucco construction defect case that held that subsequent purchasers could sue their home’s builder under the UTPCPL because the Act had no requirement that the purchaser of a product, or home, be the original purchaser. The decision cites several other appellate cases not involving construction defect claims that held that the UTPCPL was a valid legal theory for claims regarding products purchased second hand by the plaintiffs in those other cases. The court in Adams held that there was no reason that a suit regarding construction defects in a home should be treated any differently.
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Mark L. Parisi, White and Williams LLPMr. Parisi may be contacted at
parisim@whiteandwilliams.com
Leaky Wells Spur Call for Stricter Rules on Gas Drilling
September 17, 2014 —
Jim Snyder, Jim Polson and Bradley Olson – BloombergA study that found natural gas drilling polluted drinking water is fueling calls for stricter standards for well construction that could increase costs for energy companies.
The analysis by academic researchers backed the oil and gas industry in one respect: the authors said “fracking” wasn’t to blame for harmful methane seeping into groundwater studied in Texas and Pennsylvania. Some environmentalists contend that by blasting underground rock with a mix of water, chemicals and sand, producers can force the gas into drinking water near the surface.
The bigger concern, according to the analysis published yesterday by the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are leaks in the steel-and-cement casings surrounding the well bore. They let gas escape before it gets to the surface, making water undrinkable and in some cases explosive.
Reprinted courtesy of Bloomberg journalists
Jim Snyder,
Jim Polson and
Bradley Olson
Mr. Snyder may be contacted at jsnyder24@bloomberg.net; Mr. Polson may be contacted at jpolson@bloomberg.net; Mr. Olson may be contacted at bradleyolson@bloomberg.net
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
GOP, States, Industry Challenge EPA Project Water Impact Rule
January 02, 2024 —
Pam McFarland - Engineering News-RecordDays after the Biden administration rule reinstated state authority under the U.S. Clean Water Act to delay or deny construction permits on projects with water quality impacts, attorneys general from 11 Republican-led states, along with the American Petroleum Association, National Hydropower Association and Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, filed suit in federal court.
Reprinted courtesy of
Pam McFarland, Engineering News-Record
Ms. McFarland may be contacted at mcfarlandp@enr.com
Read the full story... Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Toward Increased Citizen Engagement in Urban Planning
November 14, 2018 —
Aarni Heiskanen - AEC BusinessDigitalization creates new opportunities for citizen engagement in urban planning. I gave a short presentation on the topic at the Digitalization in Urban Planning event in Helsinki.
The event was organized by CHAOS Architects, a tech company. Its AI cloud platform allows citizens to share ideas about their city and co-create it with their community. The platform contains engagement-driven applications and third-party APIs that process business intelligence for better interaction and decision-making.
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Aarni Heiskanen, AEC BusinessMr. Heiskanen may be contacted at
aec-business@aepartners.fi
Vacation Rentals: Liability of the Owner for Injury Suffered by the Renter
May 13, 2019 —
Kevin J. Parker - Snell & Wilmer Real Estate Litigation BlogWith the explosion of the “private” rental business wherein residential property owners rent their house or condo on a short-term basis to third-parties, certain legal issues have arisen with regard to the duties owed by the property owner to the renter.
A recent Virginia Supreme Court case, Haynes-Garrett v. Dunn, 818 S.E.2d 798 (Va. 2018), addressed that issue. In that case, the property owners owned a rental house in Virginia Beach. The property was not the owners’ main residence, but rather a vacation home that was sometimes used by the owners, but mostly used as a rental. The issue addressed by the court was whether – for the purpose of evaluating the owners’ duty of care to the renter – the relationship should be classified as a “landlord-tenant” relationship or an “innkeeper-guest” relationship. This classification was important because the duties of the owner to the renter were significantly different depending on the category. In the landlord-tenant arena, under Virginia law, the landlord has no duty to maintain the property in a safe condition because the property is deemed to be under the tenant’s exclusive control. (An exception being concealment or fraud by the landlord as to some defect in the premises that is known to the landlord but unknown to the tenant.) Assuming that exception does not apply, the tenant takes the premises in whatever condition they may be in, thus assuming all risk of personal injury from defects or dangerous conditions.
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Kevin J. Parker, Snell & WilmerMr. Parker may be contacted at
kparker@swlaw.com
The 411 on the New 415 Location of the Golden State Warriors
June 10, 2015 —
Garret Murai – California Construction Law BlogYou can feel the buzz here in the Bay Area as the Golden State Warriors enter Game 4 of the NBA Playoffs following a 35 point upset over the Houston Rockets on Saturday, and a chance tonight to sweep the series and head to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1975.
Formerly the Philadelphia Warriors from 1946 to 1962, and later the San Francisco Warriors from 1962 to 1971, the Golden State Warriors have played in Oakland’s currently named Oracle Arena since 1966 (except for one year when they played in San Jose while the Oracle Arena was being remodeled).
Starting next year, however, construction will begin on the Warriors’ new stadium in the Mission Bay area of San Francisco with completion scheduled for the 2018-2019 season. Although details are just emerging – and even the conceptual plans have changed after some said that the initial design looked like a toilet – here’s the 411 we know on the new 415 location of the Warriors:
- The cost of the new arena is estimated to be $1 billion.
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@wendel.com
BHA Has a Nice Swing: Firm Supports NCHV and Final Salute at 2017 WCC Seminar
May 03, 2017 —
CDJ STAFFBert L. Howe & Associates (BHA) is excited to announce the return of their very popular Sink a Putt for Charity at the 2017
West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar. This year, participant’s efforts on the green will help benefit both the
National Coalition for Homeless Vets and
Final Salute. As in years past, sink a putt in the BHA golf challenge and win a $25 Amazon gift card, and for every successful putt made, BHA will make a $25 cash donation in the golfer’s name to be distributed equally between these two worthy organizations.
While at the booth, don’t forget to test out BHA’s industry leading data collection and inspection analysis systems. BHA has recently added video overviews to their data collection process, as well as next-day viewing of inspection data via their secured BHA Client Access Portal. Discover meaningful cost improvements that translate to reduced billing while providing superior accuracy and credibility. Also learn about BHA’s expanding market presence and full range of services in Texas, Florida, and across the Southeast United States.
Attendees can also enter to win Dodger baseball tickets or a new iPad Pro! Other BHA giveaways include USB charging blocks, pocket tape measures, multi-tools, LED flashlights, and foam stress balls.
For more information on the National Coalition for Homeless Vets, please visit: http://nchv.org/
To learn more about how Final Salute provides homeless women Veterans with safe and suitable housing, please visit: http://www.finalsaluteinc.org/
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Los Angeles Is Building a Future Where Water Won’t Run Out
February 28, 2022 —
Brian Eckhouse & Laura Bliss - BloombergA helicopter whisks off a rooftop in downtown Los Angeles, climbs above a thin layer of haze and soars over barren mountains past the city’s edge. Soon, scars of climatic stress are evident to L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and Martin Adams, general manager and chief engineer of the city’s water and power department, as they peer out the windows. Trees torched years ago by wildfire. Flats parched by sun and little precipitation.
It’s another July scorcher, days after California Governor Gavin Newsom asked residents to conserve amid one of the worst droughts on record. The crisis spans across the southwestern U.S. Outside Las Vegas, the enormous Lake Mead reservoir that feeds the Golden State as well as Nevada and Arizona plunged in June to its lowest level since 1937. In August, federal officials ordered the first-ever water cuts on a Colorado River system that sustains about 40 million people. Even after pounding holiday storms, 64% of the land in Western states was still experiencing severe to exceptional drought in January, which is on track to be the driest on record in some parts.
Reprinted courtesy of
Brian Eckhouse, Bloomberg and
Laura Bliss, Bloomberg Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of