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ABOUT THE CASE, CLAIM, OR ISSUE
Not long ago, legal counsel for a major insurance carrier reached out to the Guardian / YA Group team for a forensic engineering investigation and litigation support on a large case. Their insured, a general contractor specializing in interior remodeling, was the subject of a lawsuit alleging widespread defective work and millions of dollars in needed repairs. Leaks were reported at the balconies, through the stucco exterior, as well as at a few windows and doors.
ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION
When the Guardian / YA Group construction defect expert inspected the subject property, he was able to confirm a limited number of leaks were occurring in the building. However, upon further investigation, this was a 1960s building that had been converted from apartments to condominiums. The conversion contractor did not modify the exterior of the building; construction activities were limited to interior renovations only. In addition, the conversion developer had already identified and funded exterior maintenance and other capital expenditure items. These maintenance and capital expenditures were scheduled into the future based on the date of conversion.
ABOUT THE RESOLUTION
Subsequent to the forensic expert’s presentation of findings, all parties could agree that there was no documentation that observed leaks were present at the time of conversion. Therefore, the repair for these leaks would then fall outside the scope of the interior remodeling contractor. It is reasonable to expect that if the contractor had discovered leaks in the building envelope during construction activities that repairs would have needed to be made. But the contractor had documented each of the interior renovation spaces prior to the installation of drywall. This made it easy to confirm leaks were not present or visible during the construction activities. This reinforces the need for contractors to be diligent in their project documentation. Moreover, the existence of the earmarked reserves proved: 1) the HOA had needed to perform maintenance on the exterior of the building (which wasn’t being done), and 2) the issues occurred after the interior construction work was completed. Armed with the analysis Guardian and YA Group provided, the insurance carrier was able to resolve the claim at a fraction of the claim amount.
ABOUT GUARDIAN & YA GROUP
Providing insurance carriers and their counsel the pragmatic forensic support they need to resolve cases successfully and efficiently, the team of experts at Guardian, now a division of YA Group, is unmatched. Today’s unified construction defect team, operating across the U.S. as well as in Mexico and England, offers you the breadth and depth of construct defect expertise you need to prevail in negotiations and in court. When your construction defect cases require not only proven, specialized expertise but rapid response times, clear communication and problem-solving collaboration, this is the team you can count on. Kindly call on YA Group today.