Kennedy v. John Thurmond and Assocs. Inc.

On May 14, 2002, David and Ann Kennedy’s house in Gainesville was damaged by fire. The Kennedys reported the loss to Travelers Indemnity Company of Illinois, which had issued a policy insuring the house. Travelers requested that a construction company, John Thurmond and Associates, provide an estimate for the cost of repairs to the dwelling. John Thurmond prepared a detailed report, estimating the total cost of repairs to be $311,156. The Kennedys then contracted with John Thurmond to make the house repairs for the estimated cost of $311,156. John Thurmond began making repairs in June 2002, and the Kennedys moved back into the house in December 2002. David Kennedy subsequently sued Travelers and John Thurmond, alleging breach of contract, breach of warranty and negligent construction. John Thurmond counterclaimed that it is still owed money for change orders requested by Kennedy. The case proceeded to a jury trial at which Kennedy introduced evidence, including testimony from an expert in the field of engineering, that there were faulty repairs to the siding, the porch roof, and the floors, which are not level throughout the house.

Kennedy also presented testimony from an expert in the field of construction as to the costs of repairing the allegedly faulty work. The construction expert testified that the cost to repair the siding on the house would be $26,730. He testified that the cost to repair the deck roof would be $14,760. As for the uneven floors, the construction expert initially told Kennedy that it could cost as much as $75,000 to $100,000 to fix them because there appeared to be sagging in the floor joists that would require getting underneath them and shimming them back up to the same level.