State task force to recommend new laws for construction lawsuits

Thursday, Dec. 19, 2002 | 9:26 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A state task force has agreed to recommend that contractors should have a chance to repair construction defects before homeowners file lawsuits related to the defects.

The group recommends that contractors should show they are proficient after they get their license and also be required to take continuing education courses.

The current law provides that a suit be filed first, before the contractor is allowed to make repairs.

Steve Hill, chairman of the task force, said Wednesday that the proposed change in the law "will take the cases out of the hands of lawyers and put them in hands of the builders."

Scott Canepa, a Las Vegas lawyer representing the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association, said a study showed that in 120 cases, the contractor did not make an offer to settle or make repairs after the suit was filed.

Hill said that contractors have seen their insurance premiums rise 600 to 1,000 percent in the last several years and 300 to 400 percent in the last year mainly because of construction defect cases, especially in Southern Nevada.

At its last meeting, the task force heard from a group of Clark County homeowners who urged the committee not to take away their right to sue.

The latest recommendation would not remove the right to sue, but would give the contractor a chance to fix the problem before the dispute enters the legal arena.

The task force will return Jan. 10 to vote on other suggestions, and will make its recommendations to state Insurance Commissioner Alice Molasky-Arman.

The task force will return Jan. 23 to review and formally adopt the full report, and the issue will proceed to the 2003 Legislature.