On March 23, Gov. Rick Scott approved House Bill 875, which amended Florida Statute Section 95.11(3)(c) by extending the Statute of Repose (the ultimate deadline to assert claims) for latent construction defect claims. Prior to the amended language, the Statute of Repose was 10 years following project completion, but the revised statutory language extends this period and states as follows: “However, counterclaims, cross-claims, and third-party claims that arise out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set out or attempted to be set out in a pleading may be commenced up to one year after the pleading to which such claims relate is served, even if such claims would otherwise be time barred.” This extension presents significantly increased risk for the entire development, construction and real estate industries, and should result in significantly higher insurance premiums.

From an initial reading of the amended language, it is clear that the previous 10-year deadline to file suit for latent construction defects has now been extended by at least one year, in the event that a pleading to which claims for latent defects relate is served just prior to the expiration of the original period. But, if you consider the reality of most complex claims for construction defects, the amended language actually extends the period to file suit by a longer period of time. The following example illustrates how this could work.

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