Statute of repose clarification

Clarifying and updating a 2004 law could have major implications for some homeowners.

Sponsored by Rep. Julie Bunn (DFL-Lake Elmo) and Sen. Sandy Rummel (DFL-White Bear Lake), HF412*/SF470 would clarify the law’s intent regarding when a lawsuit for a warranty violation must be brought.

Approved 77-54 by the House May 11, it was amended and passed 45-18 two days later by the Senate. The House passed the amended bill 79-46 May 14. It awaits action by the governor.

A statute of repose remains in the bill so that no one can make a claim after 12 years, but there are two different statutes of limitations.

“If the breach is discovered in years zero through 10, the homeowner still has up to two years of statute of limitations to file the claim once they’ve discovered and reported the breach,” Bunn said. “If they discover the problem after year 10, they only now get one year to file the claim.”

The 2004 law requires a lawsuit to be brought within two years of the breach of the warranty discovery, but not more than 12 years from when the warranty took effect. However, Bunn said, one subdivision in law has a 10-year maximum, and some courts used that shorter time frame, thereby catching homeowners in the middle.

Bunn said that a 2007 court decision went against the original intent by saying all claims must be within 10 years, the stated warranty on many home repairs, even though 12 years was always the intent of the 2004 state law.

Rep. Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan) unsuccessfully tried to remove pending cases from the change.

Countered Bunn: “If we don’t clear it up and have it apply to those pending as well, we still have legal confusion out there in our court system.”