Seventh Circuit rules that based on unambiguous contract language, a construction contractor owed no duty to plaintiff
As construction projects become more complex, new technologies and innovations more specialized, trades more regulated, and bidding more competitive, general construction contractors have become increasingly reliant on subcontractors to perform construction contracts. The result is that general contractors are less able to control, inspect, and even assess the work. Yet despite this continued shift, general contractors continue to assume almost complete contractual responsibility for job completion.
Imagine this scenario from a recent case that was tried to verdict. A ...
The Illinois Supreme Court recently decided Sienna Court Condominium Ass'n v. Champion Aluminum Corp., 2018 IL 122022 (December 28, 2018). The case raised a rather straightforward question: May the purchaser of a newly constructed home assert a claim for breach of an implied warranty of habitability against a subcontractor who had no contractual relationship with the purchaser? The Court held that the purchaser could not assert such a cause of action, regardless of the general contractor's insolvency or the unavailability of recourse against the general contractor. This ruling ...