{"id":897100,"date":"2020-02-20T11:48:03","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T18:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=897100"},"modified":"2020-02-20T11:48:09","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T18:48:09","slug":"when-does-statute-of-repose-begin-in-phased-development-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/when-does-statute-of-repose-begin-in-phased-development-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"When Does the Statute of Repose Begin to Run in Phased Development Projects?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Christopher Sweeney | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.connkavanaugh.com\/when-does-the-statute-of-repose-begin-to-run-in-phased-development-projects\">Conn Kavanaugh<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\nThe Massachusetts Statute of Repose requires litigants to assert within six years all tort claims arising out of the design, construction, or administration of improvements to real property. The Statute begins to run upon the earlier of: (1) the opening of the improvement to use; and (2) substantial completion and the owner\u2019s taking of possession. It acts as an absolute bar to tort claims filed more than six years after the earlier of these two milestones. These principles are well-accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what happens when a project involves phased development \u2013 where, for example, a developer constructs condominium buildings over a series of years? Does the Statute of Repose begin to run only upon substantial completion of the entire project? Or is each phase considered a distinct improvement for purposes of triggering the Statute?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last month, a Massachusetts federal judge asked the Supreme Judicial Court for guidance on this issue. In that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/doc\/dallesandro-et-al-v-lennar-hingham-holdings-llc-et-al-sjc-12891\/download\">case<\/a>, the trustees of a 28-unit condo association brought suit against the condo\u2019s developer for negligent construction of the condo\u2019s common areas. The developer moved for partial summary judgment, arguing that it substantially completed six of the condo units more than six years before the trustees brought suit, and that the Statute of Repose therefore barred claims as to those units. The court rejected that argument, and held that the condo project constituted a single improvement \u2013 as opposed to a series of distinct improvements \u2013 under the Statute of Repose. But, noting a total lack of appellate authority on the issue, the Court granted the developer\u2019s motion to certify the question to the SJC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The SJC\u2019s ruling on this issue will have significant implications for landowners and construction-industry professionals. If the court adopts the developer\u2019s view of the Statute of Repose, condo owners will need to move more quickly to preserve their rights. On the other hand, if the condo trustees prevail, developers and other construction professionals will need to be prepared to defend latent claims that could be a decade or more old by the time they are filed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The SJC is soliciting amicus briefs on this issue. A decision is expected sometime this summer.\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christopher Sweeney | Conn Kavanaugh The Massachusetts Statute of Repose requires litigants to assert within six years all tort claims arising out of the design, construction, or administration of improvements to real property. The Statute begins to run upon the earlier of: (1) the opening of the improvement to use; and (2) substantial completion and&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/when-does-statute-of-repose-begin-in-phased-development-projects\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">When Does the Statute of Repose Begin to Run in Phased Development Projects?<\/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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10707],"tags":[9895,9836,268],"class_list":["post-897100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-statute-of-repose","tag-advise-consult","tag-massachusetts","tag-statute-of-repose","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>When Does the Statute of Repose Begin to Run in Phased Development Projects? - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mass. 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