Stuart D. Morse & Associates, L.L.C

Stuart D. Morse & Associates, L.L.C
Stuart D. Morse & Associates, L.L.C
Colorado Insurance Defense And Business Litigation Attorneys

CALL US TOLL FREE 866-825-5850

Construction litigation reform: Will new legislation fly?

On Behalf of | Feb 10, 2017 | Business Litigation |

As noted in a Colorado publication earlier this month, state lawmakers “have tried and narrowly failed for years” to craft compromise legislation that would satisfy customarily opposed interests regarding an important business matter.

They have again renewed their efforts. Will they be lucky this time?

The Colorado Statesman article points to myriad would-be laws focused upon construction litigation reform that ultimately got sidetracked and went off the rails for lack of sufficiently solid support.

This time, though, note a number of commentators, the results could be different. They stress widely bipartisan support across Colorado that spurs their hope for the formal enactment of a new law soon.

Those hopes rest centrally on Senate Bill 156, which contains a number of provisions aimed at reducing conflict surrounding alleged faulty construction. There is a belief among many state voices that there are presently too many lawsuits claiming building defects, that those suits take too long and are overly expensive, that they chill builders and result in too few units being built to accommodate a large demographic of would-be home buyers.

Thus, the specifics of SB 156 — and tandem legislation being worked on — is geared toward language that seeks to be widely accommodating.

“We may not have the perfect bill,” says one of the bill’s sponsors, “but we’re hoping the process will get it there.”

“There,” of course, means passage. Conceivably, the legislation has strong traction and attendant momentum. The Statesman notes that solving construction slowdowns “is a top priority” for legislators on both sides of the political aisle.