Jacksonville builder Michael Bourré is among those leading the way to get a decision overturned in the Maronda case.
Bourré and others are working with legislative leaders and have met with Gov. Rick Scott to discuss bills on common law implied warranties relating to residential construction.
The thrust of these bills is to overturn the 5th District Court of Appeals decision in October of 2010 in what is commonly known as the Maronda case. The Lakeview Reserve Homeowners v. Maronda Homes, Inc., case is now pending before the Supreme Court of Florida.
The 5th District Court of Appeal decision significantly broadened the judicially imposed common law doctrine of implied warranty by extending the implied warranty of a home’s habitability beyond what was previously understood to be a warranty that protected the inhabitants of a home from serious defects that might harm health and safety. In Maronda, the implied warranty was extended to roads and drainage facilities within a subdivision.
The FHBA and National Association of Home Builders have filed briefs in opposition to implied warranties. In the brief, the FHBA and NAHB argued that the court should not impose the severe measure of an implied warranty to make developers into insurers against defects in common areas that meet regulation and do not directly affect the health and safety of the home.
The Florida Supreme Court will decide whether the implied warranty of habitability applies strictly to the home itself, or whether it entails responsibility to adjacent common areas that may affect private homes nearby. A decision is not expected until summer 2012.
“In order to fully address the contingent liability, which may result from the review of this decision, it is necessary to pursue a legislative solution,” Bourré said. “This is a significant case that stands to directly affect the risks involved in home building,”