McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC has handled numerous actions involving “Bad House” Cases in South Carolina and outside the state. These cases involve faulty construction or faulty materials used in the construction of a home.
Attorneys with McGowan, Hood and Felder, LLC investigate “Bad House” cases on a frequent basis. There has been a lot of news in the past couple of months about Chinese wall board and other faulty construction materials which can contribute to legal problems and issues for contractors, subcontractors or home repair entities in regard to building or repair of a house. The purpose of this newsletter is to help educate some of you in which cases not to take in this area of law.
You’re sitting in the office on Friday afternoon waiting for that big case to come calling. Sure enough, the phone rings. The nice lady on the line says she paid her builder at closing, but he won’t come back and finish the job even though he promised he would; or a man complains of a terrible leaky roof, and mold to boot, and then states that his insurance company won’t pay for repairs to his house; or the guy who is angry because the floor slabs in his home have enormous cracks and so do all of his neighbors’ floors. Many of these cases on their face appear to have liability but may not be the type of case to pursue. It is financially cogent to refuse to accept many of these claims as cases in your practice. Nowhere is the old adage “I made more money on the cases I didn’t take” more true than in construction defect work. Here are six reasons why.
Clients.
A man’s home is his castle, right? You can put up with that dent in the fender of your car, especially if it’s on the passenger side. But the loose brick in your fireplace that you see every night when you settle back with a cool beverage? No way. Whether you live in an $80,000 tract home or an $800,000 beauty on the lake, your home must be perfect. Clients in building defect cases, especially “punchlist” complaints, are the same way. Even though the cost to hire someone to fix all those problems may not be much, most of us are stubborn enough that we will torture ourselves staring at that loose brick before we pay someone to do something that builder should have done. Make sure you aren’t looking at two or three thousand dollars worth of cosmetic touchups before you sign that guy up. Both of you will be angry at the end of the case.
Competence.
It is wise to know what you are doing both legally and substantively when you elect to take on a construction defect case. Leaky roofs are usually a lot more complicated than finding the hole, especially if someone calls a lawyer instead of a roofer. Soils and foundation problems will force you to learn about compaction, kips, and sheep’s foot tampers. None of it is rocket science, but it requires a little experience outside what most of us know.
Experts.
In a punchlist case you can probably find an expert who will work for free, because he either finished the job or wants to finish the job. Structural issues, mold damage, drainage, moisture intrusion cases? Get ready. If you have a case that includes PI claims secondary to mold exposure, multiply that by four or five to arrive at a figure you will spend on experts. Beware, there is no pain and suffering in contract cases, and typically no way to recover these types of damages.
Damages.
No matter how big of a problem your defendant may be, you probably aren’t going to have a gross negligence case on your hands. Nearly all construction disputes are contract claims. That means no punitive, no pain and suffering, and often no consequential damages. Even if you recover 100% of your client’s actual damages, there usually isn’t enough left to fix her house, after your fees and expert fees are paid. The result is an unhappy client.
Insurance.
One of the really complicated issues in construction “law” is insurance coverage. There is coverage out there, but you need to plead into and prove it. Like any other area of practice, know what you are doing.
Collectability.
You don’t need to worry about coverage in some cases. “Mass” builders like KB Homes, Ryland, or D.R. Horton are good for a judgment in any single house case—even in today’s business climate. Local builders are a completely different story. With few exceptions (e.g., Mungo and Shumaker), homebuilders are sole proprietors or LLC’s. They keep no cash. Often they structure their billing so all their profit is at the front end, so by the end of the job they have no incentive to finish that punchlist—or pay your judgment. Particularly in this economy, local builders are either failing or temporarily closing up shop. Make sure there is a pocket out there to reach into or you may be working for free.
You can make money suing builders. You have to be picky about cases you take in the defensive construction arena. The cases can be expensive to work up and some have little damages. It is within your purview to decide which cases are good and which cases are bad.
Dixon Robertson works for homeowners whose homes don’t work the way they should. From shoddy construction to defective building materials, he has represented hundreds of individuals and a class of 8000 homeowners to resolve their claims and win them relief for their building problems. He practiced solo for nearly thirteen years before joining McGowan, Hood & Felder last year.
The attorneys at our firm work closely with referring attorneys to bring a case to successful resolution. The attorneys in our firm who litigate complex cases are constantly updating their education and ability to litigate these types of cases. Dixon Robertson of McGowan, Hood & Felder has helped to litigate many cases that involve construction litigation. Dixon Robertson is available for consultation by email at DRobertson@mcgowanhood.com or telephone (Toll free 1-877-644-6400).
Please visit our website at mcgowanhood.com for comprehensive information on construction defect litigation.
Very truly yours,
McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC
W. Dixon Robertson, 1517 Hampton Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment