What is Johnson Evans & Headrick, P.C.?

Johnson Evans & Headrick, P.C. manages 5 data types including contact submissions.

What is a statute of repose and how does it affect my defect claim?

A statute of repose is an absolute time limit — typically running from a fixed event like substantial completion or the date of services — after which no construction defect claim can be brought, regardless of when the defect was discovered. Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, and California each have different repose periods (commonly 4–10 years). Unlike a statute of limitations, repose generally is not tolled by the discovery rule. We analyze the trigger date and the applicable repose period at the outset to determine whether the claim is viable.

Who can be held responsible for a construction defect?

Potentially every party in the construction chain — the general contractor, the subcontractors (framing, waterproofing, MEP, etc.), the design professionals (architects and engineers), material suppliers, and in some cases the owner or developer. Responsibility is allocated through contractual indemnity, express and implied warranties, and comparative-fault or apportionment principles. A multi-party defect case is often as much about allocating fault among defendants as it is about proving the owner's damages.

What damages can I recover in a construction defect claim?

Common recoveries include the cost of repair (the most common measure), diminution in value (when repair is not feasible or the defect is permanent), loss of use or loss of rental income during the repair period, temporary relocation costs, and in some cases consequential damages. Delay and disruption damages may include extended general conditions, acceleration costs, and loss of productivity. The available measure depends on the contract, the defect, and the governing state law.

Are construction defect disputes typically litigated or arbitrated?

Many construction contracts include mandatory arbitration clauses (often under the AAA Construction Industry Arbitration Rules), so disputes frequently go to arbitration rather than court. Arbitration can be faster and more private, with an arbitrator who understands construction, but the discovery rules and appeal rights are narrower. We represent clients effectively in both forums and help evaluate which route is better for your situation — and whether the arbitration clause is enforceable as written.

What documentation do I need to support a defect or delay claim?

Contemporaneous documentation is the backbone of any construction claim: the contract and all change orders, RFIs and RFI responses, submittals and shop drawings, the as-built schedule and schedule updates, daily reports, meeting minutes, pay applications and lien waivers, correspondence, photographs, and the project manuals and plans. Delay claims in particular live or die on the schedule and contemporaneous records. We identify the key documents early and preserve them — because the evidence that proves the claim is often the evidence that was created during the project, not after the dispute began.

Construction Defect Claims

When the building fails, the paper trail decides who pays.

Construction defect cases are rarely about whether something went wrong — they are about why, who is responsible, and what it costs to fix. We represent owners, general contractors, subcontractors, and design professionals in multi-party defect, delay, and cost-overrun disputes. The work begins with the building: investigating the alleged defect, tracing it to its cause, and mapping each party's responsibility under the contract, the warranty framework, and applicable statute. From there we build the case — expert analysis, damage quantification, and a litigation strategy that resolves the dispute efficiently and protects the project-based economics of the businesses involved.

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Multi-party

Defect, Delay & Cost Overrun Litigation

01 · Orientation

A defect claim is a causation problem wrapped in a contract dispute.

Patent Defects

Defects apparent on inspection — cracking, water intrusion, structural movement, façade failures, and finish failures. These claims surface during or shortly after construction and typically involve clear damage quantification.

Visible · Measurable

Latent Defects

Defects not discoverable until years after completion — waterproofing behind walls, foundation settlement, and concealed structural issues. Statutes of repose and discovery rules govern the window; we analyze the trigger date and the applicable limitations period.

Hidden · Time-barred?

Delay & Disruption

Schedule delays, loss of productivity, acceleration, and impact claims — apportioning delay among parties using critical-path-method analysis and schedule-impact evidence. Delay claims live or die on contemporaneous documentation.

Critical Path

Cost Overruns

Claims arising from scope changes, defective plans and specs, differing site conditions, and cardinal changes. The contract's change-order regime, notice provisions, and differing-site-conditions clause determine recovery.

Scope · Change Orders

02 · Scope of Practice

What we handle.

Defect Investigation & Causation

Working with forensic engineers and construction experts to investigate alleged defects — water intrusion, structural failures, envelope failures, foundation issues, and MEP defects — and trace each to its cause and responsible party.

Multi-Party Fault Allocation

Allocating responsibility across owners, general contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, and material suppliers — through contractual indemnity, comparative fault, and apportionment of damages under applicable state law.

Damage Quantification

Quantifying repair costs, diminution in value, loss of use, delay damages, and consequential damages — with expert support that withstands challenges to the methodology and the numbers.

Delay & Schedule Claims

Analyzing critical-path schedules, time-impact analyses, and contemporaneous project documentation to prove or defend delay, acceleration, disruption, and loss-of-productivity claims.

Design & Professional Liability

Pursuing and defending claims against architects, engineers, and design-builders for negligent design, errors and omissions, and failure to meet the applicable standard of care.

Warranty & Statute-of-Repose Defense

Analyzing express and implied warranties, statutes of repose, and statutes of limitations to determine claim viability and assert timely defenses — because a defect claim filed outside its window is a claim that fails.

03 · How We Work

How we approach the work.

Partner-led from intake. Counsel that moves as fast as the matter requires — and prepares for the resolution that may never require a courtroom.

Investigate & Document

We investigate the alleged defect with forensic experts, preserve the physical evidence, and review the contract, change orders, RFIs, submittals, and contemporaneous project records that will frame the dispute.

Causation & Allocation

We trace the defect to its cause, identify the responsible parties, and map each party's contractual and tort exposure — building an allocation theory that maximizes recovery or minimizes liability.

Damage Model

We build the damage model — repair scope, cost estimates, diminution in value, delay damages, and consequential losses — with expert support that survives challenge.

Resolve & Recover

We pursue resolution through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or trial — pursuing recovery aggressively and defending against overreach efficiently, always with the project-based economics of the businesses in mind.

04 · Representative Results

A representative track record.

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Multi-Party Defect

$MM settlement

Resolved a multi-party residential construction defect dispute involving waterproofing and structural failures — allocating fault across the general contractor, waterproofing subcontractor, and design professional, and recovering repair costs plus diminution in value for the owner.

Residential Development · 2024

Delay & Disruption

Critical path

Defended a general contractor against a $10M+ delay and disruption claim — proved through critical-path-method analysis that the owner's design changes, not the contractor's performance, drove the critical-path delay.

Commercial Project · 2023

Latent Defect

Statute of repose

Defeated a latent-defect claim filed near the end of the applicable statute of repose by establishing that the discovery rule did not toll the limitations period — resolving the matter without payment.

Commercial Envelope · 2022

05 · Lead Counsel

Partner · Austin

Brian E. Berger

"A defect claim is a causation problem wrapped in a contract dispute. The building tells you what failed; the contract tells you who answers for it. We work both — with the experts who understand the failure and the contract framework that allocates the cost."

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06 · Common Questions

Before you call.

A patent defect is one that is apparent or discoverable by reasonable inspection during or shortly after construction — visible cracking, obvious water intrusion, or apparent structural movement. A latent defect is hidden and not discoverable until later, sometimes years after completion — waterproofing failures behind walls, concealed foundation settlement, or MEP issues inside assemblies. The distinction matters because statutes of limitations and repose run differently for each, and the discovery rule may (or may not) toll the limitations period for latent defects.