Expert: John Varghese - 11/25/2009

Question
Both of these cases have some complexities to them, so I will try to be brief. All I am really asking upon your review is if, in your opinion, my husband and I would have enough of a probability to begin seeking legal counsel:

#1
We purchased our house approximately two years ago. Inspection caught a few things that needed to be repaired and were. Later after we discovered there were several leaks in a back sunroom, we contacted the roofer who had done the original repair per the inspection. He included a "guarantee of repair" in his contract. Over the course of a year, he made repeated visits back to repair the leaks which only seemed to relocate, but were never repaired. After a year, he sent a bill to us asking us to pay, to which we refused since he never fixed the leaks and to this day we still have the problem. We are also concerned about if there is additional water damage.

Who should we pursue to have this problem corrected? An estimate from a contractor suggested having half the roof replaced. Do we have a case, and who would it be with? The previous owners or the roofer?

#2
We have American Home Shield home warranty. We purchased the extended warranty at $400/yr. We had a refrigerator which was jus over a year old fail. We call AHS to be assigned a vendor. Over the course of 2 months this vendor misdiagnosed the problem, provided continually excuses not to come repair our refrigerator, had a rude receptionist when I called to inquire about this, and when I continually complained to AHS about this vendor, they stated I needed to follow through with this vendor.

After 2 1/2 months and no refrigerator, I wrote a letter to AHS complaints dept. with a timeline and citing my calls I put in to them. They FINALLY assigned me a new vendor, but said that they would not reimburse me the initial $60 cost for the first vendor, and we would have to pay an additional $60 for the next vendor to come out. I agreed.

Vendor #2 arrived and they ordered the wrong part for the refrigerator. This was mere days before I was hosting Thanksgiving and going on 3 months without a refrigerator. They put an order in for the correct part. I called AHS and informed them that the wrong part has been ordered and I have been without a refrigerator for 2 months. I asked that they at the very LEAST reimburse me the $120 we have paid out-of-pocket for having absolutely nothing done.

Could I possibly have a case with AHS? Primarily for stress, the inconvenience and cost of not being able to shop for and store food over a period of 3 months, and having to go out to a cold garage to a small refrigerator we had where we kept a few staples?

Answer
Hi,

In both these cases you have a good case and if you file a case you have every chance to succeed provided you have records of all the transactions.
In #1, the case would depend on whether you purchased a newly constructed house or an old one. If it was a newly constructed house, you have a good case against the builder because it is part of the warranty that the house is handed over to you in good condition. However if it was a used house this implied warranty as we call it do not extend to any damage that does not go to the root of the agreement like leakage. However in either case since your roofer had given you a guarantee of repair, you were right in denying the payment to the roofer, and the roofer is liable to make repairs till the condition is resolved. You can approach the civil court claiming breach of warranty against the roofer after giving a notice to him. As for the previous owner, their warranty, as mentioned depends upon whether the house is new and also whether they had given any warranty in the contract of sale that the house is without defect.

In #2, you have a case with AHS, if their warranty extends to the refrigerator, and unless the clause of the home shield warranty is examined this cant be confirmed. However, from your narration it appears that it extended, and in that case, you can claim against them for the loss as well as mental agony for not fulfilling their part of the contract.

Regards

John Varghese