Despite opposition from homebuilders, subcontractors and others in the business community the Colorado Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee passed through a bill designed to get at the heart of the state's construction defect litigation issue. Lawmakers say the bill (Senate Bill 45) was passed to keep the conversation going but that significant changes would be needed to push the measure all the way through.
The bipartisan Senate Bill 45 aims at equitably dividing litigation defense costs, which has the potential to lower insurance rates ultimately decreasing costs for developers.
"Senate Bill 45 is a partial but surgical approach in this overall problem that we face ...," Senate President Kevin Grantham (R-Canon City) said in presenting the bill on Wednesday. "It addresses a very narrow issue by putting some balance and fairness back into the allocation of defense costs. It's not intended to be a panacea. But it stands on its own merits."
The legislation would allow a judge to determine the allocation of defense costs, as opposed to a general contractor.
But the bill would not likely have an impact on the ultimate amount of the verdict, and there is no guarantee that it would curb lawsuits or lower insurance rates. In some cases, it might add additional layers of litigation.
(more on Colorado's latest legislation proposal relating to construction defect litigation...)
![[VIDEO] Productivity defects and improvement potential at World of Concrete 2017](https://img.forconstructionpros.com/files/base/acbm/fcp/image/2017/01/default.587ea8b563580.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=75&q=70&w=75)
