If you are an owner experiencing construction defects or corresponding damage (e.g., water intrusion) please consult with counsel. Not doing so can result in your lawsuit being forever time-barred by the statute of limitations! Do NOT let this happen to you; this means that any valid claims you may have associated with the construction defects or corresponding damage are gone.
The statute of limitations for construction disputes including construction defect disputes is embodied in Florida Statute s. 95.11(3)(c), set forth at the bottom of this posting. Please check out this article and this article for more information on the statute of limitations for construction defects.
For example, in Brock v. Garner Window & Door Sales, Inc., 2016 WL 830452 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016), homeowners experienced water intrusion from their windows and sued the company that installed the windows. The problem, however, was that the homeowners sued the window installer more than four years after the homeowners discovered the defect (the statute of limitations in s. 95.11(3)(c) as set forth below) but less than five years after the discovery of the defect. The homeowners tried to creatively argue that the five-year statute of limitations governing written contracts should control because the window installer was not a licensed contractor and should not reap the benefit of the shorter four-year statute of limitations. The Fifth District rejected this argument.
Regardless of whether your claims are against a licensed or unlicensed contractor, the four-year statute of limitations in s. 95.11(3)(c) is going to control your construction defect lawsuit. In the case above, the homeowners waited more than four years after discovering the water intrusion to sue their window installer. As a result, their counsel had to come up with an argument to try to circumvent the four-year statute of limitations. Unfortunately, the argument was not successful and the homeowners potentially valid claims were time-barred. Clearly, this is a situation you want to avoid so that you are not having to defend your valid claims with a statute of limitations defense.
Florida Statute s. 95.11(3)(c)
(3) WITHIN FOUR YEARS.—
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(c) An action founded on the design, planning, or construction of an improvement to real property, with the time running from the date of actual possession by the owner, the date of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, the date of abandonment of construction if not completed, or the date of completion or termination of the contract between the professional engineer, registered architect, or licensed contractor and his or her employer, whichever date is latest; except that, when the action involves a latent defect, the time runs from the time the defect is discovered or should have been discovered with the exercise of due diligence. In any event, the action must be commenced within 10 years after the date of actual possession by the owner, the date of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, the date of abandonment of construction if not completed, or the date of completion or termination of the contract between the professional engineer, registered architect, or licensed contractor and his or her employer, whichever date is latest.
Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.