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Florida Court Decides Statutory Abatement Would Be Futile In Chinese Drywall Case
January 1, 2010 2:42 PM | Posted by Christian, Kathryn | Print this page
In Banner Supply Co. v. Harrell, 2009 WL 4927912 (Fla. 3d DCA Dec. 23, 2009), Florida's Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's ruling denying the defendant's motion to abate the proceedings pursuant to Chapter 558, Florida Statutes, which relates to litigation involving construction defects. The plaintiffs initially filed a class action lawsuit against the defendant for personal injury allegedly sustained due to alleged defective drywall imported from China. At the time they filed their initial complaint, the plaintiffs provided a Chapter 558 notice, but the personal injury claims in that complaint were not subject to Chapter 558. The plaintiffs later filed an amended complaint asserting a claim for property damage, and the defendant filed a motion to abate, arguing that the plaintiffs had not complied with the statutory requirements of notice and an opportunity to inspect under Chapter 558. The court held that abatement would have been futile because the required sixty days set forth in Chapter 558 had already passed by the time the hearing on the defendant's motion to abate was heard. The court did not reach the issue of whether Chapter 558 applied to the case.
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