Statistics show that more contractors fail during a recovery than during a recession. Everyone seems to know this, but many choose to ignore the warning. As the economy rebounds, work becomes more plentiful, but margins don’t rebound as quickly. This recovery is no exception; if anything, margins are increasing at a slower pace than in past cycles. Too many businesses measure themselves by revenue and are in a race to get back to where they were in the "good old days." Smart firms downsize quickly and stay close to the sidelines waiting for margin opportunities and overhead to come back into balance. But they also protect themselves. In this day and time, it is essential that you have proper legal protection. We're litigators and trial lawyers; we don't respond to veiled threats. And there are unfortunately those who make these threats for many reasons - because they're cheap and don't want to pay, they believe they can extort money by taking a shotgun approach to construction claims, they don't know the law, or because they just aren't honest. But what they don't want is to have to back up what they say in a courtroom when their position is not meritorious. We know and consider as very close friends some of the finest builders, architects, engineers and professionals in the United States. We know the effort it takes.
We handle all aspects of construction defect claims under Chapter 558 of the Florida Construction Defects Statute (FCDS), as well as alleged construction or remodeling claims which gives rise to a cause of action pursuant to Section 553.84, Fla. Stat., express or implied breach of warranty claims, and structural defect cases.
Under the statute, “‘Contractor’ means any person, as defined in s. 1.01, that is legally engaged in the business of designing, developing, constructing, manufacturing, repairing, or remodeling real property.” Fla. Stat. § 558.002(6). A “‘Design professional’ means a person, as defined in s. 1.01, licensed in this state as an architect,interior designer, landscape architect, engineer, surveyor, or geologist.” Fla.Stat. § 558.002(7).
A “‘Construction defect’ means a deficiency in, or a deficiency arising out of, the design, specifications,surveying, planning, supervision, observation of construction, or construction,repair, alteration, or remodeling of real property resulting from: (a) defective material, products, or components used in the construction or remodeling; (b) a violation of the applicable codes in effect at the time of construction or remodeling which gives rise to a cause of action pursuant to s. 553.84; (c) a failure of the design of real property to meet the applicable professional standards of care at the time of governmental approval; or (d) a failure to construct or remodel real property in accordance with accepted trade standards for good and workmanlike construction at the time of construction. Fla. Stat. §558.002(5) (a-d).
