BarbriSFCourseDetails
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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Real Property - Transactions

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, May 5, 2021

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will provide construction counsel with guidance on the unique issues surrounding bringing a construction defect claim on behalf of a condominium association and defending such a claim. The panel will address the issues of filing a timely claim, establishing who is the proper plaintiff to pursue a claim, what types of damages and defenses exist, and identifying available causes of action and defenses. The panel will outline best practices for counsel to parties on either side of a dispute to resolve construction defect disputes.

Faculty

Thomas O. Moriarty
Principal
Moriarty Troyer & Malloy, LLC

Mr. Moriarty is a founding member of the firm and Chair of its Litigation Department and is widely regarded as one of the premier real estate litigators in the Commonwealth. He has vast experience in the areas of condominium construction defect and phasing litigation, both in the trial court and at the appellate court levels and has litigated and argued several of the seminal appellate decisions in that arena. Mr. Moriarty appears in both state and federal court, representing clients in zoning and land use litigation, title disputes, prescriptive easement and adverse possession claims, beach rights and waterfront disputes, construction defect and transitional litigation, common area property disputes, condominium phasing and development matters. He served as 2010 President of the Real Estate Bar Association, is a past Co-Chair of REBA’s Litigation Section, the Residential Conveyancing Committee, and the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Condominium Law & Practice Section and as a member of the organization’s Board of Directors and its Executive Committee.

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Lara Albright Yost
Miscellaneous

Ms. Albright focuses her practice primarily in the area of construction law with experience representing general contractors, subcontractors, and developers in commercial and residential construction defect claims. She has defended her clients in both litigation and arbitration. Additionally, Ms. Albright has defended insurance agents and insurance carriers in professional liability claims.

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Description

Newly constructed or converted condominiums often contain defective conditions, including concealed or "latent" construction defects, which, if left undetected and/or unrepaired, can cause extensive damage over time, requiring associations to assess their members' substantial repair costs. Since condominium associations are responsible for overseeing and maintaining the common areas and facilities, the association's first unit owner elected board must evaluate the construction and determine potential claims against the developer and/or design and construction team.

Counsel for condominium associations must consider the engagement of an architect, engineer, or other qualified construction consultant to assess then existing conditions and be prepared to pursue claims in a timely fashion to comply with applicable statutes of limitation and repose. Counsel must determine, among other things, whether the identified deficiencies give rise to any actionable claims including, without limitation, negligence, breach of the implied warranty of habitability, breach of fiduciary duty, violations of consumer protection statutes, or violations of the state condominium act.

Listen as our authoritative panel of construction and condominium attorneys guides counsel on the claims and defenses when construction defects are alleged in the common elements. The panel will provide best practices for retaining expert consultants and filing timely claims, in addition to negotiating claims to seek adequate monetary compensation.

Outline

  1. Condominium association incorporation documents
    1. Transition period to unit owners
    2. Inspection
    3. Naming proper plaintiffs
  2. Types of defects and damages
    1. Breach of contract
    2. Breach of warranties
    3. Common law fraud
    4. Other common law claims
  3. Statute of limitations

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key topics:

  • What are the available legal claims for construction defects that the condominium association can assert? What are the defenses available to potentially responsible parties?
  • The statutes of limitations and repose for these legal claims
  • How can these legal claims be preserved during pre-suit settlement negotiations?
  • How can an association negotiate in a manner that increases the likelihood of developer accountability for proper, comprehensive repairs?