Fla. Stat. §95.11(3)(c) governs limitations of actions in construction defect cases in Florida. In March 2018, Governor Scott signed defendant-friendly House Bill 875 into law. A key change in the law relates to the alteration of the firm ten-year statute of repose to plead third party claims in construction defect cases involving latent defects to real property. Beginning July 1, amended §95.11(3) appears to allow defendants to bring third party claims up to one year after the pleading asserted against them was filed.

The magnitude of this change is best explained via example. Prior to the amendment, if a developer turned over a project to the homeowners’ association on June 30, 2008 and the project contained latent defects, the statute of repose for the homeowners’ association to bring suit against the developer, general contractor or anybody else is June 29, 2018. If the homeowners’ association brought suit on May 29, 2018 against the developer and general contractor, the defendants would only have one month to file a third-party complaint against any subcontractors, and to bring any cross-claims and counterclaims. Under the most obvious interpretation of amended §95.11(3)(c), defendants will, in the near future, be able to plead third party claims as late as one year after a pleading is asserted against them, regardless of the statute of repose. Further, third party defendants and cross-defendants will similarly be allowed one year to bring their own third-party claims, cross-claims and counterclaims one year from the time an action is instituted against them.

Potential shortfall: §95.11(3)(c), as amended, will potentially endure constitutional scrutiny as it attempts to amend deadlines for causes of action to be tried to conclusion. Generally, these types of rules are considered “procedural rules,” which are within the Florida Supreme Court’s exclusive rule-making authority. It is easy to envision litigation with respect to the constitutionality of Florida’s amended statute based on the doctrine of separation of powers. However, the amended law has not yet even taken effect; whether or not the amended statute survives constitutional scrutiny remains to be seen.