Partner Daniel Crespo and Associate Theresa Mallen secured a total defense award in arbitration. Our client is a high-end custom home builder with a decades-long flawless record of museum quality construction. Our client was accused of performing substandard construction and the homeowners asserted a multiple million-dollar cost of repair. We took a zero-liability position and argued that the alleged defects were not defects at all but were rather mere reflections of an incomplete project. In sum, our client was forced to terminate the contract and cease construction due to the homeowners’ failure to make progress payments as they became due. The arbitration endured 16 days of testimony scattered over the course of 7 months.

Ultimately, the arbitrator ruled that there were no construction defects at the project and that the homeowners “shall take nothing.” The arbitrator also ruled in favor of our client on its affirmative claim for monies owed by the homeowners’ breach of contract plus interest. A total victory for our client.