When Construction Defects Appear, Don't Choose Between Rebuilding And Building Your Case

When construction defects occur during construction, they intensify pressure from a schedule that may already be tight.  Defects must be analyzed, confirmed, removed, and replaced and this can be time consuming.   Or course, a construction schedule rarely anticipates defects, demolition, and rework and the owner will still expect the project to be completed on time; however, pressing forward with immediate remediation may have unintended consequences.

Before starting demolition, consider the evidentiary doctrine of spoliation. Spoliation occurs when a party destroys or unreasonably deprives another party of evidence and courts have imposed sanctions on a party that deprives an opponent of evidence.   The doctrine has historically concerned documents, but its application has extended to electronic data, and courts also apply it to building conditions in construction defects cases.  So, before tearing out or fixing defective work, consider the need to allow the