Contractors want chance to fix defects

Erin Neff

Friday, April 6, 2001 | 10:56 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Contractors asked lawmakers Thursday to approve a bill that would allow them to fix construction defects without being forced into expensive litigation.

"Contractors and sub-contractors do not always do a perfect job," said Scott Rasmussen, who was representing the Nevada Subcontractors Association. "The main goal of the bill is to correct the problems."

Senate Bill 516, introduced by the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, requires a claimant to present claims of construction defects to the state Contractors Board and requires the board to investigate the claims without allowing lawsuits to be immediately filed.

Helen Foley, a lobbyist for Pardee Homes, said attorneys solicit homeowners for class-action lawsuits by sending them letters claiming the homeowners association wants them to attend a neighborhood meeting to discuss construction defects.

When residents attend the meeting -- in a room paid for by the attorneys -- they are told the homeowners association could be liable for failing to address defects.

"It puts subcontractors out of business," said Foley, who said Pardee never had a problem with a construction defect until after the 1999 legislative session gave homeowners more leeway to sue.

Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, said he attended a meeting similar to the one Foley described.

"It's an all-out hustle by attorneys to generate lawsuits," Schneider said.

The state Contractors Board is vehemently opposed to the bill because it says it does not have the ability to do what the bill requires.

"This bill would undo everything we've accomplished, with your help, in the last five years," Margi Grein of the state Contractors Board told the committee.

Last year the board handled 4,903 cases and was successful in resolving the bulk of those, Grein said. Grein said the bill's requirements could cost her licensing board $5 million.

The committee took no action on the bill Thursday.