Berish v. Bornstein, 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 530 (2006)

Citation: Berish v. Bornstein, 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 530 (2006)
Parent Document: Berish v. Bornstein, 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 530 (2006)
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date: 2006-05-22
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/8356288/berish-v-bornstein/ ↗

Full Text

1,473 chars

The Trustees contend that the defendants’ failure to flash any of the windows breached the warranty of habitability and constituted negligence. Where there are widespread water leaks in a newly constructed building, the plaintiffs should reasonably know that such leaks are almost certainly the result of design or construction defects. White v. Peabody Constr. Co., Inc., 386 Mass. at 130. See also Beaconsfield Townhouse Condo. Trust v. Zussman, 49 Mass.App.Ct. 757, 762, rev. den., 432 Mass. 1109 (2000). In the winter of 1983, Kaplan observed that the windows in his unit got a lot of air filtration. In spring and summer of 1984, Kaplan observed that he was able to probe from the window frames in his unit right through to the interior of the wall and that his windows had no flashing. The other Trustees knew about the lack of flashing condition by July of 1984. In July of 1984, the unit owners formed the Cotuit Bay Condo Owners Association to deal with problems regarding water damage to units and structural defects. Between late 1985 and early 1987, the Board of Trustees investigated whether there was flashing in other windows. Kaplan, as managing trustee, examined all the windows in the other units and did not observe any flashing. The Trustees collectively had knowledge of the leaking windows in July of 1984, when Kaplan joined the Board, causing the statute of limitations to accrue at that time. The plaintiffs’ claims for this defect are thus timely.

Other Sections in This Document (121)

Full Text