Inadequate Foundations & Shear Walls

A Video Explaining Foundation & Shear Wall Defects

Foundation Defects

A foundation is the base upon which a structure stands. If a foundation is inadequately engineered it will not properly hold a structure up and will pose a hazard to the structure, to adjoining structures, and to occupants of the building.

A foundation is the base upon which a structure stands. If a foundation is inadequately engineered it will not properly hold a structure up and will pose a hazard to the structure, to adjoining structures, and to occupants of the building.

Defective Shear Walls

Shear walls are the vertical walls in a building that are designed to resist lateral forces. Lateral forces can come from extreme winds or from movement in a floor system due to earth movement or earthquake. Absorption of lateral forces is achieved by attaching shear walls to floors using nails.

The Third Circuit found that although the failure to provide sufficient shear strength in a building’s roof should have allowed the plaintiff to recover, counsel did not properly plead the case as a breach of warranty, so the plaintiff was deprived of the right to recover because the failure of its counsel.

The proper measure of damages due to the defective design of a building is the cost to remedy the defect, unless such amount is “grossly and unfairly out of proportion to the good to be attained” by fixing the building.

ZALMA OPINION

Construction defects lawsuits are almost ubiquitous. To deal with such litigation it is necessary for the lawyer or insurance claims person to understand construction and the parts needed to build a structure. This, and the previous videos about construction defects work to provide the information needed as adapted from my books on Construction Defects and Insurance.

© 2021 – Barry Zalma Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders.

He also serves as an arbitrator or mediator for insurance related disputes. He practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer and more than 54 years in the insurance business.

He is available at http://www.zalma.com and zalma@zalma.com. Mr. Zalma is the first recipient of the first annual Claims Magazine/ACE Legend Award. Over the last 53 years Barry Zalma has dedicated his life to insurance, insurance claims and the need to defeat insurance fraud. He has created the following library of books and other materials to make it possible for insurers and their claims staff to become insurance claims professionals.

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