Legal Question in Construction Law in Virginia

Builder continues to give us the run-around...

We had settlement in January of '05. The builder has promised lots of things only to no follow through. What we're having the most problems with is getting our granite counters replaced. It's a brand new house and we expect brand new products. However, there was a (badly repaired) broken corner and a crack in our granite. After months of fighting for new counters, it was agree they would all be replaced. It would be nearly impossible to match the granite at this point so that is why all of the counters need replaced. We were told they would be replaced 12 days ago and after several phone calls to find out what was going on, I was told it's taking so long because they are trying to find a match and I was talked to like I was nuts when I reminded them they were all to be replaced. It's not just us, most of our neighborhood has issues with their broken promises. We have requested that all communication now be done in writing or via email since we can no longer trust them. We need advice. How do we get this resolved? I'm at the point now where I'm ready to take them to court. Enough of the lies! Thank you.


Asked on 7/12/05, 8:44 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Builder continues to give us the run-around...

The kinds of problems with the builder of your new home which you've recounted here are fairly common. Fortunately, most are ultimately resolved without recourse to court action which, hopefully, will happen in your situation.

However, if for whatever reason this doesn't happen, at some point before you decide to litigate, you will need to add up all the deficiencies which can be laid at the doorstep, so to speak, of the builder and put a dollar figure to them. These would be your possible damages which you could ask a court to award you. They(the damages)would need to be very substantially in excess of what such litigation might cost you in terms of tangible, e.g., actual out of pocket expenses involved in mounting the court action as well as intangible ones such as the mental energy which you would expend and stress that you would likely feel from the experience of having to take your case to court. Whether you would be able to recover attorneys'fees would, obviously, also be a very relevant consideration in your decision to go the litigation route.

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Answered on 7/12/05, 10:00 am


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