Bill addressing construction defects likely will return.

According to Paula Moore’s recent article in the Denver Business Journal, it is likely that plaintiffs’ attorneys will run another bill this year similar to Senate Bill 09-246, also known as the Homeowner Protection Act of 2009 (HPA of 2009).  That bill, sponsored by Senator Morse, was intended to legislatively overturn the 2008 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Holmes decision of the Colorado Supreme Court.  Goodyear, 193 P.3d 821 (Colo. 2008).  Not happy with the ruling that homeowners cannot recover prejudgment interest on damages based on an anticipated future cost of repair, plaintiffs’ attorneys ran the HPA of 2009 to regain that interest.

Rumors are circulating that the plaintiffs’ attorneys that brought us the HPA of 2009 are working on a draft bill which is supposed to be more saleable at the legislature than was the HPA of 2009, which was ultimately withdrawn by Senator Morse because of strenuous opposition from builders, deverlopers, contractors and those that rely on the jobs that they bring into the state.

I hope to begin our coalition building strategy via e-mail later this week or next.  If you would like to be added to my e-mail distribution list, please contact me at (303) 987-9813 or by e-mail at mclain@hhmrlaw.com.  Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell will again be very much involved in the fight against the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ attempts to reopen the floodgates of construction defect litigation and to gain the leverage necessary to extort unreasonable settlements from the construction community.