Construction Defect Battles

In several states across the country, property owners, the construction trades and insurers are squaring off over alleged construction defects, insurance professionals say. "Construction defect" is a broad term used for a wide range of conditions at a building. These conditions range from leaky, improperly installed windows to the presence of so-called toxic mold. According to David Golden, director of commercial lines for the National Association of Independent Insurers of Des Plaines, Ill., construction defects started becoming a "significant issue" in California in the 1980s as a "result of a housing explosion out there." Mr. Golden suggested that the drive to meet pressing demand for residential housing may have led to the use of greenhorn laborers and even to inexperienced contractors undertaking building projects.