Altior Law attorney David Mollicone recently secured an across-the-board win in his defense of a construction dispute in the Oakland County Circuit Court. The case, Gold, et al v MG Building Company, Inc., et al, Case No. 21-188621-CZ, involved claims of negligence and breach of the implied warranty of habitability arising from the construction of a Bloomfield Hills home. The home at issue had been constructed and sold in 2015 to the original non-party purchasers, who then resold the home to the Plaintiffs in the litigation in 2018. Prior to the sale, the original owners of the home reached a full and final settlement with Altior Law’s builder-client relating to the construction, which included a blanket release.
In lieu of answering the Plaintiffs’ Complaint, Altior Law attorney Dave Mollicone moved for summary disposition on behalf of the Defendants on multiple grounds. Amongst them, Mollicone argued that the original purchasers’ release of Defendants barred Plaintiffs’ construction-related claims as the successive owners of the property. Further, Plaintiffs had no claim for the implied warranty of habitability against the Defendant-builder, because Michigan law does not imply the warranty to subsequent purchasers. The Court agreed, granted Defendants’ motion, and dismissed the case in its entirety. In its Opinion and Order, the Court held that the release given in favor of Defendants by the original owners “specifically addressed claims regarding the construction issues raised in the instant lawsuit by Plaintiffs.” As to Plaintiffs’ implied warranty claim, the Court reasoned “under Michigan law, the implied warranty of fitness/habitability is extended only to the purchase of new residential houses.” Consequently, “[b]ecause Plaintiffs were not the purchasers of a new house, this claim must be dismissed.”
Altior Law congratulates Dave for securing an early and complete win on behalf of the firm’s builder clients.