Construction Defects

• Construction Defects:  We represent contractors defending against claims and property owners making claims against builders and sellers of defective real property.  Several technical ways of looking at defects have been changed.
• The history of the current Right to Repair Act is due to some cases that prevented homeowners from suing unless the poor workmanship or defects had caused actual damages with monetary loss at the time the lawsuit was filed.  In 2002, the California adopted the “Right to Repair Act” (Civil Code §§ 895 - 945.5), often referred to as SB 800.
• This changed several ways construction defect cases are handled.  This includes, as to residential construction, that the distinction between patent and latent (hidden) defects have been eliminated. 
• Homeowners now generally have a ten year statute of limitations that begins upon “substantial completion of the residence.”  But it is not that simple and varies.