/Chitose Suzuki / Las Vegas Review-Journal
By Eli Segall | Las Vegas Review-Journal
Four years after Republican lawmakers raised barriers to pursuing lawsuits alleging shoddy construction, Nevada real estate firms are trying to stop Democrats from rolling that law back.
The state Assembly approved a bill last month that would make it easier for homeowners to pursue construction defect claims — and potential lawsuits — against builders, contractors and others who worked on their houses. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed it May 17.
With Democrats controlling both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s office, the bill would wipe out or change provisions of a law passed in 2015 — when Republicans ran Carson City — that cracked down on construction defect litigation.
It also comes at a time when homebuyers who want new construction are gravitating toward lower-priced condos and townhouses, the kinds of projects that will be affected most by the bill, according to a lobbyist for homebuilders.
