LIABILITY FOR CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS

Abstract

In the construction industry, construction defects may appear in buildings at any stage, starting from the design phase and throughout its expected lifespan. When a building does not perform satisfactorily, rectification works have to be undertaken to prevent further injury and the owner will seek redress from those who are responsible. There is a trend in multi-party litigation in construction defect lawsuits. Furthermore, there is increasing risks of liability of the various parties involved in a construction project. These issues complicate the fact finding process of the court. It is difficult to assess and identify the responsible party, and judges have to depend on evidence from expert witnesses as well as factual witnesses to arrive at a decision. Five case law examples were studied on the factors that influence judges’ decisions on who is liable for construction defects. The result of the analysis and evaluation is that the quality of evidence submitted by expert witnesses play a critical role in the judge’s consideration of liability and may change the course of a case. Factual evidence produced by factual witnesses also helps the judge to understand the facts of the case. However expert evidence was not always accepted by the courts and factual witness may not provide sufficient evidence to support their stand. Recommendations to improve the collection and use of evidence were also provided this dissertation.