How to Claim for Commercial Property Damage due to Faulty Siding
Making a compensation claim for faulty siding on an office building can often be fraught with frustrations. A successful claim for commercial property damage due to faulty siding has to show that either the materials used for the siding were substandard or that the installation of the materials was negligent. It will need an inspection by an expert construction engineer to determine which the case is.
Faulty siding can have serious consequences to both the structural integrity and the value of a commercial property. It can be the result of using poor quality materials, or good quality materials being nailed, flashed, caulked and painted poorly. The most frequent sign of faulty siding is dry rot and, depending on the humidity of the area in which your office building is located, the fungi that cause dry rot might not invade your office through the faulty siding for many years after it has been installed.
Time Limits for Claiming Compensation for Loss of Business due to Faulty Siding
Normally, when a company suffers a loss of equipment or loss of business due to dry rot issues or other water intrusion problems, a claim for compensation is made against their own insurers. In the case of a loss of equipment or loss of business due to a construction defect, a compensation claim for faulty siding on an office building is made against the construction of the building.
Faulty siding is considered a “latent defect” in the construction industry – a defect that would not have been identified with reasonable care at the time the office building was completed. In most states, this would mean that a plaintiff has ten years from the date of “substantial completion” in which to make a claim for commercial property damage due to a faulty siding, but it is your best interests to contact a lawyer straightaway if you detect dry rot in the siding of the office building which you believe may be due to a construction defect to ensure that you are within your state´s time limits to make a compensation claim for faulty siding on an office building.
Time limits also exist for how long a “Notice of Commencement of Legal Proceedings” must be sent to the property constructor after a fault is identified. This is the first stage of claiming compensation for loss of business due to faulty siding and it initiates a period in which a negotiated resolution is attempted before the claim for commercial property damage due to faulty siding reaches litigation. The time limits for the “Notice of Commencement of Legal Proceedings” will also vary depending on the state in which the office building is located.
Failure to initiate a claim for commercial property damage due to faulty siding within the specified time frames could see the claim time-barred; and, if a claim for compensation for loss of business due to faulty siding is delayed unnecessarily, it could result in the settlement of the claim being insufficient to cover loss of income, damaged equipment and fully repair the damage to the property – particularly if the fault has deteriorated substantially due to your own lack of care since it was first identified.
Making a Compensation Claim for Faulty Siding on an Office Building
A compensation claim for faulty siding on an office building can be made by anybody with a commercial interest in the property, but is most frequently managed by the property owner on behalf of his or her tenants. The property owner´s claim for commercial property damage due to faulty siding will also cover any property damage or financial loss the tenant has experienced.
Following submission of the “Notice of Commencement of Legal Proceedings”, a lawyer would try to organize a suitable repair schedule and compensation for the loss of income, and loss of equipment or stock if appropriate. Often a successful resolution of a claim for commercial property damage due to faulty siding will be reached in this manner.
Litigation is usually the last resort to recover compensation for loss of business due to faulty siding, and most disputes are about who is going to settle the claim rather than contesting liability. In a compensation claim for faulty siding on an office building it is often not the constructor of the property who is at fault, but a sub-contractor or the supplier of the siding materials – against whose insurance policy the claim for commercial property damage due to faulty siding may be made.
Contact us about Making a Claim for Commercial Property Damage due to Faulty Siding
If dry rot appears in the siding of your office, and you believe that the damage is due to negligent workmanship or faulty materials, you are invited to call our construction defects helpline and discuss the damage to your property directly with an experienced construction defects lawyer.
Our lawyers will be able to use their experience in order to provide you with advice about making a compensation claim for faulty siding on an office building and inform you about the inspections and procedures that have to be completed before a claim for commercial property damage due to faulty siding can be initiated.
There is no obligation on you to proceed with a claim for commercial property damage due to faulty siding once you have spoken with us. Our goal is to provide you with the details you need in order to make an informed decision about whether you have a compensation claim for faulty siding on an office building which is worth your while to pursue.
Disclaimer: No two claims for compensation for loss of business due to faulty siding are the same. We advise all office owners and office tenants to seek independent legal advice relevant to their particular situation directly from a construction defects lawyer. Consequently nothing in the article above should be considered as legal advice or as forming a lawyer-plaintiff relationship.