{"id":899654,"date":"2022-03-01T17:24:16","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T00:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=899654"},"modified":"2022-03-02T14:37:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T21:37:02","slug":"construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Not Ignore Construction Defect Claims if You Are on Inquiry Notice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Ryan A. Bennett | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lexology.com\/library\/detail.aspx?g=09b708f7-9528-4c1d-8e1f-a2daa365b760&amp;utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&amp;utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&amp;utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&amp;utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2022-02-23&amp;utm_term=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">White and Williams<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In&nbsp;<em>Ryan Altenbaugh, et al. v. Benchmark Builders Inc., et al.<\/em>, No. 120, 2021, 2022 Del. LEXIS 24, the Supreme Court of Delaware recently affirmed the lower court\u2019s ruling that the statute of limitations barred the homeowners\u2019 negligent construction claims. Although the court applied the discovery rule to toll the running of the three-year statute of limitations, it found that the homeowners were on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/notice-of-contract-mechanism-lien-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inquiry notice<\/a> of the defects within their home eight years before filing suit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr. Altenbaugh and his wife (Plaintiffs) purchased their home in 2008 from Benchmark Builders, Inc. (Benchmark). One year into homeownership, Plaintiffs reported water leaking into the kitchen from windows to Benchmark. Two years later, in January 2011, Plaintiffs wrote a letter to Benchmark notifying it of a water issue in the basement. Specifically, the letter described a 15\u2019 x 4\u2019 section of wall that was \u201csoaked,\u201d including the fiber glass insulation. Benchmark\u2019s representative examined the area and told Plaintiffs the issue was limited to a small area and that it had been repaired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2019, during a separate bathroom repair, a contractor noted rotting wood behind the drywall. Plaintiffs conducted a moisture survey which revealed \u201csystemic and catastrophic water intrusion.\u201d The cause of the water intrusion purportedly related to a failure to install adequate flashing around penetrations through the stucco exterior dating back to the original construction. Plaintiffs filed suit against Benchmark and Delaware Roofing &amp; Siding Company L.L.C. (referred to collectively with Benchmark as Defendants) in November 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment and the trial court granted the motion, stating that Plaintiffs had actual knowledge of the construction defects by at least 2011\u2014 the time at which Plaintiffs sent their letter to Benchmark. Plaintiffs unsuccessfully argued that summary judgment was not appropriate because questions of fact remained with respect to the discovery rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On appeal, Plaintiffs argued that despite reporting issues in 2009 and 2011, they were unaware that water had been systemically penetrating the stucco and infiltrating their home. Thus, the discovery of the systemic water intrusion did not take place until 2019. The court disagreed. As the high court noted, in construction defect actions, the cause of action accrues at the time of construction unless the discovery rule tolls the running of the three-year statute of limitations. While Plaintiffs attempted to argue that they did not possess specialized home construction knowledge, the Supreme Court believed their letter to Benchmark noting \u201cconstruction defects\u201d and the discovery of soaked walls was enough to show awareness of the issue. Because the court agreed that they were on \u201cinquiry notice\u201d of the claim in 2011, when their injury was no longer inherently unknowable, the Supreme Court of Delaware affirmed the Superior Court\u2019s grant of summary judgment based on the statute of limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When investigating a construction defect loss in Delaware (a jurisdiction that applies the discovery rule to <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/economic-loss-rule-reach-expanded-utah\/\" target=\"_blank\">latent construction defect claims<\/a>), it is important to keep in mind not only the date the defect was discovered, but whether the facts suggest that the plaintiff was on \u201cinquiry notice\u201d of the claim. In cases where the plaintiff was on \u201cinquiry notice\u201d of the claim, a court may find that, because the plaintiff was on inquiry notice, the statute of limitations was not tolled until the time of actual discovery. As the court found in this instance, because the plaintiffs were on inquiry notice of the claim more than eight years prior to the time the suit was filed, their claim was barred by Delaware\u2019s three-year statute of limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes &#8211; please call Advise &amp; Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email <a href=\"mailto:experts@adviseandconsult.net\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ryan A. Bennett | White and Williams In&nbsp;Ryan Altenbaugh, et al. v. Benchmark Builders Inc., et al., No. 120, 2021, 2022 Del. LEXIS 24, the Supreme Court of Delaware recently affirmed the lower court\u2019s ruling that the statute of limitations barred the homeowners\u2019 negligent construction claims. Although the court applied the discovery rule to toll&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Do Not Ignore Construction Defect Claims if You Are on Inquiry Notice<\/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":[4],"tags":[9895,228,11630,187],"class_list":["post-899654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-defects","tag-advise-consult","tag-construction-defect-claims","tag-inquiry-notice","tag-statute-of-limitations","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>Do Not Ignore Construction Defect Claims if You Are on Inquiry Notice - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"court applied the discovery rule to toll the running of three-year statute of limitations, it found that the homeowners were on inquiry notice\" \/>\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\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do Not Ignore Construction Defect Claims if You Are on Inquiry Notice - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"court applied the discovery rule to toll the running of three-year statute of limitations, it found that the homeowners were on inquiry notice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-02T00:24:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-02T21:37:02+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\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"Do Not Ignore Construction Defect Claims if You Are on Inquiry Notice\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-02T00:24:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-02T21:37:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/\"},\"wordCount\":633,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Advise &amp; Consult\",\"Construction Defect Claims\",\"Inquiry Notice\",\"Statute of Limitations\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Construction Defects\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/\",\"name\":\"Do Not Ignore Construction Defect Claims if You Are on Inquiry Notice - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-02T00:24:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-02T21:37:02+00:00\",\"description\":\"court applied the discovery rule to toll the running of three-year statute of limitations, it found that the homeowners were on inquiry notice\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\",\"description\":\"Construction Expert Witnesses\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"width\":162,\"height\":75,\"caption\":\"Advise & Consult\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Do Not Ignore Construction Defect Claims if You Are on Inquiry Notice - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","description":"court applied the discovery rule to toll the running of three-year statute of limitations, it found that the homeowners were on inquiry notice","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Do Not Ignore Construction Defect Claims if You Are on Inquiry Notice - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","og_description":"court applied the discovery rule to toll the running of three-year statute of limitations, it found that the homeowners were on inquiry notice","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/","og_site_name":"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2022-03-02T00:24:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-02T21:37:02+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adviseconsult","twitter_site":"@adviseconsult","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"Do Not Ignore Construction Defect Claims if You Are on Inquiry Notice","datePublished":"2022-03-02T00:24:16+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-02T21:37:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/"},"wordCount":633,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Advise &amp; Consult","Construction Defect Claims","Inquiry Notice","Statute of Limitations"],"articleSection":["Construction Defects"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/","name":"Do Not Ignore Construction Defect Claims if You Are on Inquiry Notice - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-03-02T00:24:16+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-02T21:37:02+00:00","description":"court applied the discovery rule to toll the running of three-year statute of limitations, it found that the homeowners were on inquiry notice","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-defect-claim-inquiry-notice\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","name":"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","description":"Construction Expert Witnesses","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Advise & Consult","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","width":162,"height":75,"caption":"Advise & Consult"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ztG6-3M2y","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899654"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":899663,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899654\/revisions\/899663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}