Homebuyers Win Counterclaim Against Builder Over Shoddy Home Construction – Judge Rules Construction Company Had To Install Septic System At House

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$113,505 Verdict

Civil construction litigation

Other Useful Info: Construction contact of residential home was for $175,000. The plaintiff (builder) sued the defendants (buyers) for breach of contract because defendants withheld final draw of $40,000 until they received satisfactory assurances. Construction contract was silent on issue of who was obligated to install septic tank. Workmanship of house was poor at best. Bricks came from several different runs and it showed.

The buyers counterclaimed for breach of contract and breach of implied warranty of workmanlike service. Judge Davis held that the builder was obligated to put in the septic tank since the builder drafted the contract and a certificate of occupancy could not be obtained with out it. Damages for the buyers can be broken down as follows: cost incurred by buyer after breach to obtain certificate of occupancy $9,703.44 additional construction loan interest; $40,407.79 cost incurred by defendants to get certificate of occupancy after breach; $103,394.00 cost per estimate to repair house to condition it would have been in had it been built in a workmanlike manner; $40,000 offset for amount left to be paid on $175,000 construction contract. In this case, the buyers had less than a high school diploma and the husband was illiterate and could not hear out of one ear.

Principal injuries (in order of severity): Breach of contract (by builder); breach of workmanlike service warranty (by home buyer).

Special damages: Construction loan interest

Tried or Settled: Tried

County where tried or settled: Lexington

Case Name and Number: Watts Construction Company, Inc. and Donald Watts v. Gerald and Lupe Feltes, Case No. 98-CP-32-2578

Date Concluded: Aug. 28, 2003

Name of Judge: Hon. Clyde N. Davis Jr.

Amount: $153,505.23 for defendant home buyer offset by $40,000 which was the amount left to be paid on contract.

Insurance Carrier: None

Expert Witness & Area of Expertise: Alan Moore, Columbia; Mark Burges, Columbia

Attorneys for defendants: C. Cantzon Foster II and Robert G. Price, Columbia