|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
"Right To
Repair" Means Work For Contractors SB 241, the "Right To Repair" bill, went into effect August 1, 2003. The Nevada Legislature, urged by the Coalition For Fairness in Construction and impressed by large turnouts of home owners and construction workers at legislative hearings, gave contractors the right to repair construction defects prior to being sued... and now contractors must figure out to make the new law work for them and their customers. A large gathering of contractors and their office staff jammed a meeting room at the Palace Station in Las Vegas to hear what makes SB 241 tick, and how to negotiate the myriad of new rules written into the law. |
 |
|
Steve Hill, chairman of the Coalition, said that the
message adopted by the construction industry was that Chapter 40 just didn’t
work.
"This broken law was hurting the industry, hurting homeowners and hurting the state’s economy," Hill said. "We needed to be able to resolve disputes without having to go to court. Once lawsuits start, homes don’t get fixed." That message, according to Hill, made sense to lawmakers. It also made sense to everyone else. "It made sense for our industry, it made sense for homeowners, and it made sense for the state," he said. "I think we struck a good balance that centered on a common sense solution to an exceptionally big problem." |
|
|
|
SB 241 In Action
Jim Wadhams, an attorney with Wadhams-Akridge and lobbyist for the Coalition for Fairness in Construction, went over the nuts and bolts of the bill and how the contractors would work within its guidelines. A major victory was that the distinction between complex cases and non-complex cases was thrown out. In the past, any suit involving five or more homes was considered to be a complex case and such a case jumped right into the courtroom upon filing, with no repairs allowed. SB 241 changes that with contractors allowed to repair defects in all cases. |
| "Work with your
general contractors, work with your subs, and work with the people who buy
your homes," Wadhams said. "If there are six homes with a
problem, you have the right to repair all the houses. That was our primary
goal, to have the right to repair each and every time."
Looking Back - And Ahead Bruce King, Pete King Corporation, said that the bill has been dedicated to the memory of Mark Tomlinson. Tomlinson, former president of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, was instrumental in forming the Coalition and gaining the momentum that passed SB 241. "This never would have happened without Mark Tomlinson showing up one day at the offices of the Nevada Subcontractors Association in one of his brightly colored sweaters and getting things started," King said. King said that no other state has a law that give subcontractors the right to repair, and that the bill is fair to both the contractor and homeowner. The Coalition will continue, according to King. Every Repair, Every Time "We felt that it was important that the industry has the right to fix every problem in every home, every time," Steve Hill said. "The subcontractor provisions (in SB 241) are the best in the country. Other states have the right to make an offer. The homeowner can then accept or reject it. If he rejects it, it ends up in court. We feel that court is a black hole." |
||
|
|
Call (702) 615-7644 |
