Category Archives: Statute of Limitations – Tolling

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Do Not Ignore Construction Defect Claims if You Are on Inquiry Notice


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In Ryan Altenbaugh, et al. v. Benchmark Builders Inc., et al., No. 120, 2021, 2022 Del. LEXIS 24, the Supreme Court of Delaware recently affirmed the lower court’s ruling that the statute of limitations barred the homeowners’ negligent construction claims. Although the court applied the discovery rule to toll the running of the three-year statute of limitations, it found that the homeowners were on inquiry notice of the defects within their home eight years before filing suit. Continue reading

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Colorado’s Court of Appeals Considers How the Statute of Repose Applies in Multi-Contractor Construction Cases


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In Sierra Pacific Industries v. Bradbury, 2016 Colo. App. Lexis 1274, 2016 COA 132 (September 8, 2016), Sierra Pacific Industries, Inc. (Sierra Pacific), a subcontractor hired to supply windows and doors on a condominium construction project, filed an indemnification action against Jason Bradbury, d/b/a Bradbury Construction, Inc. (Bradbury), a sub-subcontractor Sierra Pacific hired to install windows and doors. After the trial court granted summary judgment in Bradbury’s favor, the Court of Appeals of Colorado addressed whether Colorado’s six-year statute of repose for construction defect claims, C.R.S. § 13-8-104, barred Sierra Pacific’s claims against Bradbury. In particular, the court addressed the question of whether the tolling period for indemnification claims set forth in § 13-8-104(b)(1) tolls the repose period. The court also addressed how the phrase “substantial completion” should be interpreted in multi-contractor construction cases. Finally, the court considered whether Sierra Pacific could rely on the “repair doctrine” to extend the “substantial completion” date, the date on which the statute of repose begins to run. Sierra Pacific reminds us that, when a defendant invokes a construction defect statute of repose to defeat a plaintiff’s claims, it is important to analyze how the jurisdiction at issue defines the phrase “substantial completion” and how it applies tolling arguments to the statute of repose.

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