Who bears responsibility when cracks appear in your building?

摘要

Case law can only develop in response to the cases that are brought before the courts, writes Sue Lindsey. There are many issues waiting for the right set of facts to come along and provide a vehicle for the law to be reviewed. One such question revolves around when a claim against a construction professional for negligent design arises. Usually, the losses involved have been styled by the courts as economic. Your building might be about to crack, or have cracked, but as far as the legal interpretation goes, what has actually happened is that as a result of negligence your building is worth less, or needs repair. The real damage is to your pocket. The question is: does that loss arise when the building is finished, or when there is physical damage that needs repair?