The construction boom of the last decade has created a resultant increase in the number of construction defect litigation problems faced by homeowners, building owners and construction professionals. It is important that these parties understand the crucial time limitations which govern construction defect suits. The most basic of these are the 2-Year Statute of Limitations and the 10-Year Statute of Repose. Both act in different ways to foreclose lawsuits after the passage of time.
The 2-Year Statute of Limitations addresses the question of when a lawsuit may be brought for a construction defect after facts sufficient to alert the property owner or user of the defect are known to the property owner or user. Stated generally, the property owner has two years from the date on which the property owner became aware of facts sufficient to tell the reasonable person that a defect existed (note, that this does not mean that the property owner must know everything about the defect, for example, early discovery of water intrusion, leakage or structural cracking can trigger the statute of limitations even though the exact cause of the problem is not known). In fact, under Minnesota Case Law, knowledge by a previous property owner can trigger the running of the 2-Year Statute of Limitations.
The Statute of Repose is different in that it provides a 10-year limitation period for bringing suit regardless of when the defect was discovered. The ten years can be extended minimally under limited circumstances and it generally begins running from the date of substantial completion or date of issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
In either case, the deadlines provided by the Statutes of Limitations or Statute of Repose are very unforgiving and must be strictly complied with. If you have questions concerning land use, construction or commercial litigation matters, contact Dave Snyder at (651) 351-2131.
