Homeowners with construction defects deserve to have their homes, their largest investment, repaired in a timely manner. Fortunately, there are a number of alternatives to litigation to resolve these problems. Construction defect lawsuits can be costly, time-consuming, intrusive, and jeopardize a homeowner’s privacy.  Before you sign onto a construction defect lawsuit, consider:

• 3 – 5 YEARS -  The average construction defect lawsuit takes anywhere from an average three years up to five  years from the date the lawsuit is filed until settlement is reached or the case proceeds to trial.
• SELLING AND REFINANCING - While your home is involved in a lawsuit selling your home or refinancing may be difficult and discloser of the lawsuit is required by law.
• DISCLOSURE REQUIRED - Once you have been in a lawsuit, you are required to disclose any defects that you believe exist in your home which were subject of a construction defect lawsuit and were not repaired when you are selling your home.
• Failing to disclose all the alleged defects upon sale is fraud, and puts you at risk for a lawsuit.
• WHERE THE $$ GO - The entire settlement amount doesn’t go the homeowner. It is not uncommon for a homeowner to walk away with less money than the amount needed to make the repairs.  The lawyers involved in the lawsuit may take a percentage of the award as well as other fees for expert witnesses, testing and home inspectors.
• HOMEOWNER OBLIGATIONS - Lawsuits can be intrusive and time-consuming for a homeowner. Here are some items that you may experience if you are a party in a CDL:
• Visual Inspections: Prosecution and Defense lawyers have a right to come into your home and conduct a visual inspection.
• Destructive Testing:  You can expect destructive testing on various parts of your home, both exterior and interior, including around windows. Destructive testing is used to determine causation. Below is an example of destructive testing around an exterior window.
  

  Before Destructive Testing:

  After Destructive Testing:

  
  
• Deposition: If you enter into a lawsuit you can expect to be deposed one the condition of your home and the potential damages you have experienced as a result of the construction defect.
  
• Discovery: You must respond—in writing—to the lawyers and other parties involved in the lawsuit.
  • Produce documents showing each of the alleged defects
Court Trial: If your case goes to trial, you can expect to participate in some capacity for a portion of the time the case is being tried.

When problems are solved before litigation everyone wins. Click here for tips on Solving Your Defect Without Litigation.