{"id":265,"date":"2012-01-18T14:49:05","date_gmt":"2012-01-18T21:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=265"},"modified":"2012-01-18T14:49:05","modified_gmt":"2012-01-18T21:49:05","slug":"it-is-time-to-clarify-that-plaintiffs-in-construction-defect-cases-cannot-recover-more-than-100-of-their-actual-damages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/it-is-time-to-clarify-that-plaintiffs-in-construction-defect-cases-cannot-recover-more-than-100-of-their-actual-damages\/","title":{"rendered":"It is time to clarify that plaintiffs in construction defect cases cannot recover more than 100% of their actual damages."},"content":{"rendered":"

Heather M. Anderson – January 5, 2012<\/p>\n

Developers in Colorado could be facing more of an uphill battle than the economy.\u00a0 Attorneys for homeowners\u2019 associations have conceived a new argument whereby they seek to hold the developer liable for one hundred percent of the damages in a construction defect action as a fiduciary under Colorado law.\u00a0 As most of us know, developers rarely participate in the actual construction work of any given project.\u00a0 However, pursuant to Colorado\u2019s Common Interest Ownership Act (\u201cCCIOA\u201d), board members appointed by the declarant developer are fiduciaries of the unit owners. \u00a0See 38-33.3-301, et seq.\u00a0 Attorneys for homeowners\u2019 associations argue that this designation of a declarant as a fiduciary creates a non-delegable duty to assure that there is no negligence in the construction of a home.\u00a0 See Cosmopolitan Homes Inc. v. Weller, 663 P.2d 1041 (Colo. 1983). [1]<\/p>\n

Taking this argument one step further, attorneys for homeowners\u2019 associations are now arguing that, in accordance with its non-delegable duty, a developer should not be allowed to allocate any liability to settling parties, including general contractors and\/or subcontractors, which actually performed the work on a project.\u00a0 If successful, the ultimate result of this argument precludes the developer from seeking a set-off for any of the settlements between the association and the settling parties, thereby allowing the homeowners\u2019 associations to potentially recover more than one hundred percent of their claimed damages.<\/p>\n

In a recent construction defect suit, the plaintiff homeowners\u2019 association successfully argued that the developer, as a fiduciary, has a non-delegable duty under CCIOA.\u00a0 As a result, the association argued that the jury should not allocate any liability to the general contractor, which had already settled.\u00a0 The jury then allocated one hundred percent of the liability for the claimed construction defects to the developer on the verdict form.\u00a0 As a result, the developer was precluded from seeking a set-off for the amount of settlement between the general contractor and the association, which essentially allowed the homeowners\u2019 association to recover from the developer what it had already recovered from the general contractor.<\/p>\n

While Colorado law would seemingly prohibit this outcome, those involved and\/or interested in the home building industry are urged to speak up and get involved. Perhaps there should be an amendment to Colorado\u2019s statute concerning pro rata liability that would explicitly preclude the ability to recover more than one hundred percent of a party\u2019s claimed damages.\u00a0 See C.R.S. \u00a7 13-21-115.5. \u00a0Currently, Colorado\u2019s statute concerning contribution among tortfeasors provides that a release given in good faith to a person liable in tort for the same injury does not discharge any of the other tortfeasors from liability for their respective pro rata share of liability for the injury.\u00a0 C.R.S. \u00a7 13-50.05-105.\u00a0 Pursuant to Colorado\u2019s pro rata statute, no defendant is liable for an amount greater than represented by the degree or percentage of fault or negligence attributable to such defendant.\u00a0 C.R.S. \u00a7 13-21-115.5.\u00a0 However, both statutes are silent on the issue of recovery, which is why many believe an amendment is necessary to preclude what is essentially double recovery by homeowners\u2019 associations in construction defect actions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another way to skin the cat may be to make clear, statutorily, that C.R.S. \u00a7 13-21-115.5(6)(a)(I) means what it says, that \u201cevery construction business in the state is financially responsible under the tort liability system for losses that a business has caused.\u201d This can be accomplished by making clear that developers and general contractors are not liable for the negligence of the subcontractors and design professionals they hire, but are only liable for their own negligence.<\/p>\n

via Colorado Construction Litigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heather M. Anderson – January 5, 2012 Developers in Colorado could be facing more of an uphill battle than the economy.\u00a0 Attorneys for homeowners\u2019 associations have conceived a new argument whereby they seek to hold the developer liable for one hundred percent of the damages in a construction defect action as a fiduciary under Colorado… Continue reading It is time to clarify that plaintiffs in construction defect cases cannot recover more than 100% of their actual damages.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,4],"tags":[89,24],"class_list":["post-265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-2","category-construction-defects","tag-colorado-construction-litigation","tag-construction-defect","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nIt is time to clarify that plaintiffs in construction defect cases cannot recover more than 100% of their actual damages. - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/it-is-time-to-clarify-that-plaintiffs-in-construction-defect-cases-cannot-recover-more-than-100-of-their-actual-damages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It is time to clarify that plaintiffs in construction defect cases cannot recover more than 100% of their actual damages. - Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Heather M. Anderson – January 5, 2012 Developers in Colorado could be facing more of an uphill battle than the economy.\u00a0 Attorneys for homeowners\u2019 associations have conceived a new argument whereby they seek to hold the developer liable for one hundred percent of the damages in a construction defect action as a fiduciary under Colorado… Continue reading It is time to clarify that plaintiffs in construction defect cases cannot recover more than 100% of their actual damages.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/it-is-time-to-clarify-that-plaintiffs-in-construction-defect-cases-cannot-recover-more-than-100-of-their-actual-damages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-01-18T21:49:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/it-is-time-to-clarify-that-plaintiffs-in-construction-defect-cases-cannot-recover-more-than-100-of-their-actual-damages\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/it-is-time-to-clarify-that-plaintiffs-in-construction-defect-cases-cannot-recover-more-than-100-of-their-actual-damages\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"It is time to clarify that plaintiffs in construction defect cases cannot recover more than 100% of their actual damages.\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-01-18T21:49:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/it-is-time-to-clarify-that-plaintiffs-in-construction-defect-cases-cannot-recover-more-than-100-of-their-actual-damages\/\"},\"wordCount\":630,\"commentCount\":18,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Colorado construction litigation\",\"construction defect\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Construction\",\"Construction Defects\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/it-is-time-to-clarify-that-plaintiffs-in-construction-defect-cases-cannot-recover-more-than-100-of-their-actual-damages\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/it-is-time-to-clarify-that-plaintiffs-in-construction-defect-cases-cannot-recover-more-than-100-of-their-actual-damages\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/it-is-time-to-clarify-that-plaintiffs-in-construction-defect-cases-cannot-recover-more-than-100-of-their-actual-damages\/\",\"name\":\"It is time to clarify that plaintiffs in construction defect cases cannot recover more than 100% of their actual damages. - 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