Legal action against Builder / Architect

Sarah_77

Hello all, newbe here :)

Would much appreciate if someone could shed some light on the following situation.

Myself and my partner took legal action against a builder and an architect (breach of contract/negligence) who built what was supposed to be our dream home in 2014 (not MICA related).

Three years after we moved in, there were problems after problems, foundation issues, leaks, structural issues. It got so bad that we had to move out and rent nearby. We are still renting.

The builder has since gone bust.

The architect who signed off on the work is still in business.

Our solicitor has been in contact with the architects solicitors and said that their insurance company will pay towards the claim against them.

Solicitor estimates legal fees, structural surveys/reports will run well over €1.3million.

My question is, now that the builder is gone, where will the money come to pay for all if the architect claims he is not fully responsible.

If the dispute goes to court, can the builder and sub contractors be brought in by the architects to pay towards costs even if they are not in business? Our solicitor is not very clear on what might be the outcome.

Thank you for reading and any information you can share

Sarah

chrisd2019

You should ask that question to your Solicitor who suggests the 1.3 Million bill.

Sarah_77

As mentioned, our solicitor is not very clear on it (where the actual money will come from)

He is almost retired, it went a touch to big for him hence why the question here.

Sarah

L1011

If your solicitor cannot give you guidance here, you need a new solicitor. Absolutely nobody else can give you any guidance whatsoever

Lenar3556

Interesting, but obviously a very difficult position for you to be in.

I think step one is to get clarity on the situation form your solicitor. Some matters will take time to pan out and there may be various scenarios, but you need to have clarity on the fundamentals. And also the costs accruing.

You say the builder has gone bust. Was he a company? Did he have any operative insurance policy which could be pursued?

Anyone can be subpoenaed to court, including the builder himself or his subcontractors. Although the value in doing so would need to be assessed in the first instance.

Sarah_77

Thank you for your comment.

Yes it was a relatively large company. We asked the solicitor if they would have had insurance at time of construction. He said there was no way to find out and that the company may have had no insurance and relied on sub contractors. All very vague.

Perhaps a judge can insist on the company director to reveal such information.

Hannaho

Hi! I was in a similar position about 8 years ago with an engineer who said he was qualified to sign off on renovation, but was only an associate engineer and not a chartered engineer, so he could not do so. The builder he hired was a disaster also. The sums were nowhere near as high as yours. I couldn't get the builder's insurance - he just went to ground, but I managed to get the engineers insurance through asking a friend to call him about some work she wanted done, but that she needed to see his insurance cert first. I never thought to ask for this first. I though all engineers and members of a professional body like IEI were honest about their qualifications and could be trusted. In any case, though we didn't have the builders insurance we managed to sue the engineer for the entire amount of the remedial work - there is some law that you join the parties in the action, and then the one with the money/insurance has to foot the bill when the others won't/can't. It was a hugely difficult time, and I am still traumatised by it eight years later, so I really feel how difficult it is for you. A mistake I made was not hiring a solicitor and barrister who deal almost exclusively with construction disputes - there are some out there if you look - most general solicitors don't really have that much knowledge of construction law. Hard to believe but a lot of the building regulations etc. I had to look up myself to ensure that the solicitors understood what he had breached. It all came right in the end, and the sums were a lot less then yours, but it is still something that I often still have nightmares about.

goingnowhere

Under the Civil Liability Act of 1961, a person who gets an award for damages can claim the full amount from one defendant if the other cannot pay.

The architect is insured.

Not legal advise and any solicitor should be familiar with basic Irish case law on this (1994 WJSC-SC 767)

Sarah_77

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121247506#Comment_121247506

Hi! Great that it is over for you. It is traumatic however there is no other option but to keep on going until the end. When we took this case, we imagined the solicitor and his barrister contacts would have enough information and experience between them however this is not the case and you end up presenting them with information in order to progress the situation. We will probably write a book on it when it is over.

Sarah_77

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121247568#Comment_121247568

Thank you for this, we will look into it. It is surprising as you would imagine, if the insurers believe they (the architect) is not fully responsible, why should they pay out the 100%