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“The main things we were after in 2003
was the right to repair, and we now have the right to repair,” Hill said.
“We wanted a neutral third party to be involved in the process, we
worked on the issue of amended complaints, worked on extrapolation, and
worked on getting real specificity.”
After two years and
another legislative session, which was nearly devoid of construction defect
discussions, Hill said that contractors are still not getting specific list
of actual defects, and as many lawsuits are being filed as they were
previously. The 2003 law
required both parties to approach the “neutral third party” for an
opinion about the real nature of the alleged defects (that party being the
State Contractors Board), and Hill said that in 2005 the word “and” was
removed from the law so that either the homeowner or the contractor can now
seek such an opinion.
"I don’t think there are 10,000 homes in
the valley that need a lawsuit,” Hill said.
“What they’re getting is a lawsuit that prevents them from
getting fixed.”
Actually doing
repairs has become fraught with risk, as well.
If a contractor receives a notice of a defect and commits to doing a
repair, he doesn’t get any kind of release for work performed, either past
or present. Hill said there is no one to certify the work, and the
contractor can be sued for both efforts.
“We made a
genuine effort in 2003,” Hill said. “But
left the same problems on the table.”
Contractors Urge Continued
Efforts
“This is an outstanding organization that has come a long way in
six years,” Bruce King said at the June meeting of the Nevada
Subcontractors Organization. “There’s
not another state in the union in which a subcontractor has rights in
construction defect litigation.”
King, a third
generation contractor with Pete King Nevada Corporation, said that in the
1990’s construction companies weren’t paying attention to politics and
“some folks came in and passed laws that have made things the way they
are.”
Ken Cox, outgoing
president of the association, said that the best and most effective thing
his company did when it came to construction defects was join the Nevada
Subcontractors Association. “To
survive in the construction industry today, management has to be creative
and competitive,” he said.
He and King called
for subcontractors to continue supporting the association as it fights for
balance between the homeowner’s right to a high-quality home and the
subcontractors’ right to work without fear of being sued out of existence.
King remains
optimistic that positive changes can be made.
“I refuse to believe that that this is how it’s going to be the
rest of my life,” he said. “If
it is, we won’t have solid, stable construction companies.”
NSA Elects Officers
The Nevada
Subcontractors Association elected officers for the 2005 to 2007 term.
Gary Sturm of GMS Concrete will head the association as president,
replacing Ken Cox of Cox & Sons Plumbing who will remain on the Board of
Directors as past president. Mike
Colvin of Concrete Services was elected secretary and Louie Polish of Sun
City Landscapes was elected Treasurer.
The remaining directors are Doreen Coddington of The
Roofing Company; Ken Dillon of D & D Roofing and Sheet Metal; Scott
Donnelly of Willis Roof Consulting; Bruce King of Pete King Nevada
Corporation; Steve Menzies of Efficient Electric; Jim Pope of Pacific
Stucco; and Darren Wilson of Sierra Air Conditioning.
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