If your construction company has been hit with a defect claim or a lawsuit, you may be looking into options to defend against these accusations. Perhaps you don’t think that any defects existed and that your company isn’t liable, but there is simply another explanation for the problem the person is having with their property.
When you’re in this situation, there are two main types of claims you may be facing: Patent defects and latent defects. A patent defect is usually a bit more straightforward because this is something that a homeowner or a home inspector would notice right away. If your company just built a new home and the owner claims there are electrical defects the day after moving in, things may be fairly straightforward to rectify the situation. But if it’s a latent defect, that’s when the situation gets complicated.
What is a latent defect?
A latent defect is one that is hidden, and it may stay that way for months or even years. It isn’t discovered immediately, and it isn’t obvious.
For example, there may be a problem with the electrical lines inside the walls. The circuits still work, but there’s a fire hazard. The homeowner won’t know right away and may not even find out that there’s an issue until that fire happens.
But this gets more complicated because it could be years later. Maybe your company built the house five years ago. You believe the wiring was flawless and up to code. Did the homeowner change anything since they bought the house? Did they do any maintenance themselves? Did they hire a handyman to do repairs? In other words, did someone else cause the wiring issues?
When things get complicated, you need to know how to put your company first and take the proper legal steps. It can help to work with our experienced team.