On the Horizon: More Construction Defect Claims

By Thomas M. Bona.

Everywhere you look, there seems to be construction. Construction is on the rise, from new office buildings in Manhattan to the Salina Mixed-Use Redevelopment in Syracuse to wind farms in Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties upstate. And with construction, there will be mistakes, and when errors occur during construction, there will be construction defect claims.

Construction defect claims can be challenging to defend because they require skills that few attorneys possess. To successfully defend construction defect claims, one needs to master the intricacies of the construction job itself, trace the work done by various contractors and subcontractors, and aggressively seek other parties for risk transfer. If you represent the general contractor or the construction manager, you will have to be like an orchestra conductor who must add additional parties to satisfy claims made against you. Because construction defect claims arise from multimillion-dollar buildings and projects, litigation is expensive and can take years to resolve. You will need to be able to analyze contracts and digest boxes of documents, plans, and evidence which will help you defend claims made against you and assert claims against other parties who may be responsible. Remembering that the work claimed to be defective was probably done years before the lawsuit was received gives rise to a whole other set of challenges such as spoliation.

At Pillinger Miller Tarallo, we have a team of some of the most experienced and well-respected attorneys handling construction defect cases in New York. In our New York office, Scott Miller has successfully managed, for over 30 years, hundreds of complicated and complex construction defect claims. He has defended claims as well as aggressively transferred responsibility to other parties. In our Buffalo office, Kenneth Krajewski has also successfully handled complex construction defect claims for over 30 years, always looking for ways to minimize any responsibility for our clients. So whether a construction defect claim is upstate or downstate, Pillinger Miller Tarallo has the whole state covered to defend construction defect claims successfully.

Should you have any questions, please call our office at (914) 703-6300 or contact:

Marc H. Pillinger, Executive Partner
mpillinger@pmtlawfirm.com

Jeffrey T. Miller, Executive Partner
jmiller@pmtlawfirm.com