Summary Judgment Granted in Favor of Contractor in Unfair Trade Practices Claim

Zarwin Baum recently obtained summary judgment on behalf of a framing contractor against whom claims were brought arising from the contractor’s work on a new construction residential property. In the case, the plaintiff homeowners claimed that they hired a general contractor, who in turn, hired the framing contractor to build the home and that the construction was done improperly, resulting in pinging and squeaking in the home. Plaintiffs sought the cost to repair or rebuild the home as well as treble damages pursuant to the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act. Plaintiffs also asserted a claim for unjust enrichment, claiming the defendants were enriched by the payments made for the construction without receiving the benefit of same. Bryan Werley, a partner at Zarwin Baum who handles a variety of complex matters, including construction defect cases, defended the claim and was able to establish both factual and legal defenses to the case.

Werley argued that the claims for unjust enrichment should be dismissed because Plaintiffs themselves dealt with their general contractor and any benefit conferred was conferred to the general contractor, and not the framing contractor directly. The relationship between the general contractor and the framing contractor was established pursuant to a written contract and permitting Plaintiffs to subvert that through a direct unjust enrichment claim would subvert the duties and responsibilities negotiated by the framing contractor with the general contractor. The Court granted summary judgment and dismissed the claim for unjust enrichment.

With respect to the claim for Unfair Trade Practices, the Plaintiffs’ theories rested upon allegations that the framing contractor made representations to the homeowners regarding the nature and quality of the work being performed. Through discovery, Zarwin Baum attorneys established that at no time did the framing contractors every have any direct communication with the homeowners and, even if they were present at the same time as the homeowners, the homeowners only spoke English and the contractors only spoke Spanish so no representations were made nor could they have been communicated. The Court agreed, granting summary judgment on this count and dismissing the only remaining claims against Werley’s client.