Posted on June 15, 2009 by Sanjay Kurian

Condominium Warranties and the Statute of Limitations

It is important for all condominium purchasers to know the very strong warranties that come with their purchase of a condominium unit. A developer grants each first-time purchaser of a condominium unit implied warranties under Section 718.203, Florida Statutes. The warranties are for fitness of purchase and merchantability and commence upon the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy for the subject improvement and continue for three years or one year from turnover, whichever comes last, but in no event more than 5 years from C.O. There is also an implied warranty of fitness for purpose for contractors and suppliers providing labor and material to the construction of the Condominium improvements. This warranty commences upon the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy and continues for 3 years. 

The warranty period should not be confused with the statute of limitations. An Association’s statute of limitations with regard to known defects is tolled until transition of the Association and expires 4 years from transition. This means that as to known defects, responsible parties have to be pursued within the 4 year period from transition. For latent defects, that is claims which are not known and cannot be discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence, suit can be brought for up to ten years from completion of each improvement. This means that so long as any suit is commenced within 4 years from the time the defects were discovered or should have been discovered with the exercise of reasonable diligence, which shall not exceed 10 years, the suit will be timely.

 

Of course the Chapter 558, Florida Statutes, procedure may toll the statute of limitations, and I will discuss more about that next post.

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Posted on May 18, 2009 by Sanjay Kurian

Roof Leaks and the Statute of Limitations

One of the most important issues for any legal claim is the statute of limitations, and claims for construction defects are no different. The statute of limitations is the time frame within which a lawsuit must be filed in order to have any recovery against the party or parties responsible for the damage. This is especially important where the defect is one resulting in building leaks.

Assume that you hire a roofing contractor who replaces your roof. The day after making final payment you discover water damage on the ceiling. You determine the new roof is leaking. You have 4 years from that date within which to file suit. The reason is that a claim for construction defects must be brought within four years of the time that a defect was discovered, as in our hypothetical, or should have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence. The Statute of Limitations would begin to run from the date of the first leak. This puts the onus on an owner to not ignore the problem, but conduct reasonable investigation and file suit if necessary. The liability of the contractor is not endless, but is limited by the statute of repose, which cuts off any and all claims for construction defects ten years from the completion of the contract. For example if the leak was discovered 7 years after completion of the contract, then you would only have 3 years left to file suit.

An important point is that the limitations period continues to run, even if the contractor attempts to repair the roof. I have seen numerous cases over the years where people had the contractor attempting to repair the building to no avail, and then found themselves outside the limitations period. Unfortunately, there is no tolling of the limitations period. If the contractor spends years trying to fix the roof, and suit was not filed within 4 years, then you have lost your legal rights. Every owner should be vigilant and take necessary steps to protect their rights.

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