Georgia Home Law

When clients come in to my office and need legal representation because the new home they bought is riddled with construction defects, the question I get most often is this: "When can I get my house fixed?"   I usually tell them that although the question is a simple one, the answer is pretty complicated.  Luckily for me, the Georgia Supreme Court issued an opinion recently that makes the answer a tad bit easier.

In Silman v. Associates Bellemeade, the issue to be resolved was whether it was OK to destroy evidence if you have no idea that it will be relevant to a lawsuit one day.  This is important to my clients' question because, technically, the defects in your house are "evidence."  So, if you go and fix your house without notifying the builder that you are doing so, you are destroying evidence.  Are you with me so far?

To find out what you should do in this situation requires an analysis of the case.  In the case, Mr. Silman was injured while standing on a back deck of his friends' house and the deck collapsed.  After the accident, the property owners cleaned the debris and threw it away.  Two years later, Mr. Silman filed a lawsuit and asked for penalties against the property owners for throwing away the evidence related to his lawsuit, or the debris from the collapsed deck. 

After more complicated legal analysis, the Court reasoned that the owners could not be held responsible for destroying evidence because at the time they threw away the debris, they had no idea that a lawsuit would ensue.  In fact, two years passed until a suit came to fruition.  The Court then clarified the rule with regards to destroying evidence.  The rule is that you should not destroy evidence when the potential for litigation exists.  And the "potential for litigation" means that litigation is contemplated or pending. 

So, in light of the clarification set forth in the Silman case, the answer is a bit easier for homeowners who want to know when they can get their houses fixed.  And the answer is this:  if you are coming to see a lawyer, then clearly you are contemplating a lawsuit and you should not hire that contractor to make repairs just yet.  You'll have to live with the problems a little longer.