Our Results - 2020

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of the firm’s developer client on the question of when the six-year Statute of Repose begins to run in the context of a multi-building condominium project.

Christopher Weld Jr., Tyler Chapman, Maria Davis, and Kristine Oren are defending the developer in a federal lawsuit against various claims asserted by the condominium trust – including negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional and negligent misrepresentations, and Chapter 93A – based on alleged substantial construction defects at a 150-unit condominium in Massachusetts.

Answering a certified question from a U.S. District Court Judge in Massachusetts, the SJC determined that the six-year time period for filing a lawsuit regarding common areas of an individual building is triggered when the building is substantially complete or is open for its intended use – regardless of how many buildings or how many development phases exist in a multi-building condominium complex. 

The firm's client contends that the plaintiffs’ claims related to six of the 28 buildings in the complex are time-barred since those claims fall outside the six-year time period.

The SJC rejected the plaintiffs' argument that the statute is triggered only when the entire development is complete.