An Oct. 20 decision of the Colorado Court of Appeals promises serious consequences to the local construction industry as well as its liability carriers. Unless changed by ongoing further proceedings, the decision will mean that parties who are actually responsible for construction defects, such as subcontractors, may escape liability entirely.
Here’s the situation. In typical construction arrangements, general contractors are liable to owners for all defective construction on their projects. However, general contractors have opportunities to go against subcontractors responsible for the defects. For example, if an owner sues a contractor for defective roofing, the contractor is responsible to the owner but would have occasion to recover damages from the roofing subcontractor whose work was deficient. And that makes perfect sense.