Site Civil Issues within Construction Defect Litigation

Abstract

Across the United States, increased development continues to lead to an increase in construction defect litigation, particularly for multifamily for-sale projects. This research builds on previous research that identified common construction defects and suggested the majority of common construction defects generally relate to keeping water out of or flowing away from a building or structure. This research, therefore, focused its analysis on defects related to site civil engineering. The authors analyzed 43 construction defect cases litigated between 2012 and 2019, which include issues related to site civil design and construction in and around buildings. New findings begin to quantify the economic impact of site civil issues and alleged construction defects on commercial and residential projects. The contribution of this research is (1) identification and characterization of civil engineering–related defects, and (2) quantification of potential financial impacts related to site civil issues with the goal of helping to reduce future construction defect litigation.