Homeowners can sue builders over defects
Iowans who find defects in their homes can sue contractors for work-related damages years after the fact, even if they bought the house from previous owners, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled today. The courtâs 6-0 decision reverses two lower-court rulings against a Clive couple, Mike and Bev Speight, who had tried to sue Walters Development Co. for water damage to their home. In 2005, the couple discovered that they could stick their fingers into the siding of their house, and found water spilling into their basement caused by faulty shingles and rain gutters. âWe believe that Iowa law should follow the modern trend allowing a subsequent purchaser to recover against a builder for a breach of the implied warranty of workmanlike construction,â Justice Jerry Larson wrote in the 14-page ruling. Read Decision...
Homeowners can sue builders over defects
BY GRANT SCHULTE ⢠and MELISSA WALKER ⢠REGISTER STAFF WRITERS ⢠February 1, 2008
Iowans who find defects in their homes can sue contractors for work-related damages years after the fact, even if they bought the house from previous owners, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled today.
The courtâs 6-0 decision reverses two lower-court rulings against a Clive couple, Mike and Bev Speight, who had tried to sue Walters Development Co. for water damage to their home. In 2005, the couple discovered that they could stick their fingers into the siding of their house, and found water spilling into their basement caused by faulty shingles and rain gutters.
âWe believe that Iowa law should follow the modern trend allowing a subsequent purchaser to recover against a builder for a breach of the implied warranty of workmanlike construction,â Justice Jerry Larson wrote in the 14-page ruling.
The court extended those âimplied warrantyâ rights to the Speights and sent the case back to district court. Not allowing second- or third-time owners to file claims of shoddy construction âwould do an injustice to those who purchase a home from a previous buyer shortly after the home was constructed,â the ruling said.
The Speightsâ attorney, Harley Erbe, called the ruling âa great victory for consumers, because the fact that many people nowadays are buying homes that were built for somebody else, as opposed to having homes that were custom-built.â
Until todayâs court decision, he said, people like the Spreights would have been âshut out if the home had any potential construction issues.â
Erbe said the Spreights will continue the lawsuit against the developer, who allegedly
used defective gutters and a subpar roof on the house at 1985 N.W. 149th St., which the Speights bought in July 2000 for $250,750.
The Speights still live in the house. Erbe declined to say when the leaks were discovered or whether they turned up in a pre-purchase inspection. He said suing Walters instead of the earlier owners, Philip and Nancy Rogers, was a âstrategic decision.â
Waltersâ attorney, Brian Rickert, said the ruling could âflood the courts with lawsuitsâ from homeowners, dumping a significant burden on builders. The decision, he said, opens the door to frivilous claims and forces home builders into costly court cases for damages that may have been caused by earlier owners.
âIt couldnât have come at a worse time, especially considering the state that homebuilders are in right now,â Rickert said. âThe market is just terrible, and this ruling basically says builders have to warranty a house for 15 years.â
The ruling also reversed a similar case in Linn County, and could echo through other claims statewide.
The decision is ânot a huge sea changeâ from existing law, but answers a legal question that remained uncertain for the last two decades, said Eric Burmeister, an attorney for the West Des Moines-based Regency Homes. Regency was not directly involved in the case. âThis obviously is a change that benefits consumers and puts a further burden on builders,â Burmeister said.
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