Matthew McGuire recently obtained a full defense verdict in a jury trial in Delaware County.  The lawsuit involved water infiltration through windows and stucco in a newly constructed home.  Our client was a builder that worked on the framing of the home.  Our client was hired by the owner directly after the general contractor became insolvent.  However, the GC still directed the construction and controlled the payments from the Plaintiff to contractors, including our client, for specific work done even though Plaintiff paid the contractors directly.  Our client was sued for breach of contract, breach of warranty, breach of implied warranty of habitability and reasonable workmanship.

The key issues for the jury to evaluate were control and direction of the GC regarding building code compliance, window installation, flashing, and stucco application.  After a 3-day jury trial, the jury returned a defense verdict in favor of our client, while finding in favor of the Plaintiff against the remaining defendants.