Theodore Parker III, Esq., as trial counsel for General Building Systems (“GBS”), obtained a dismissal for a waiver of costs after a 14 ½ week construction defect jury trial in Las Vegas, Nevada. Plaintiff Sun Colony developed an age-restricted community within the master planned development of Summerlin called the Siena Project. There are 575 single-family residences in the Siena Project built between 1999 and 2005. In order to keep the homes out of litigation, co-plaintiff AIG, the excess insurer for the original builder (and the developer) paid two repair contractors, SC Wright Construction and McCormick Construction $5.1 million to repair the drywall cracking in each of the homes. Our client, GBS, was the truss manufacturer for the project and manufactured and supplied the trusses to co-defendant KB Framers, the framing subcontractor who installed the trusses. The main issue in this case involved a large number of ceiling cracks.
The plaintiffs’ expert testified the cracks are largely perpendicular to the direction of the trusses, along drywall panel joints and the cracks occur in ceilings supported by trusses adjacent to the bottom chord splices plates. He attributed the drywall cracking to a movement in the trusses due to the use of wet lumber in the manufacturing process. The plaintiffs made a settlement demand to GBS and KB Framers jointly for $2.9 million. On behalf of GBS, an offer was extended pretrial to the Plaintiffs for $390,000.00. Our client, GBS was dismissed by the plaintiffs in exchange for a waiver of costs after the close of evidence, the day before closing arguments.
