Chapter 558 Construction Defect Claims
Florida requires a written notice of claim and an opportunity to repair before a construction defect action can proceed. The process is set out in Chapter 558 of the Florida Statutes, and most of what happens inside it is engineering rather than argument — the notice has to describe each alleged defect in reasonable detail, the responding party has a right to inspect, and any offer to repair has to be judged on whether it would actually correct the condition.
Vilano Engineering is retained on the electrical scope of these matters by claimants and by responding parties. Engagements come from attorneys, insurers, condominium associations, property owners and electrical contractors.
A claimant serves written notice on the parties alleged to be responsible before filing suit. Those parties may inspect the property, may carry out destructive testing where the parties agree the protocol, and may respond by offering to repair, offering a monetary settlement, disputing the claim, or referring it to an insurer. The periods for each step, and how they change when an association represents a large number of parcels, are set by the statute itself — see Chapter 558, Florida Statutes.
The notice has to identify each alleged defect and locate it well enough that the responding party can find it without undue burden. On electrical scope that means naming the equipment, the circuit or feeder, and the location, rather than describing a symptom. A notice drafted that way survives the first challenge to it; a notice that describes an outcome without identifying the installation usually does not, and that is the first thing a responding party tests it against.
The inspection is where the technical record is made, and it is generally the only chance to see the installation in its as-built condition before repairs change it. Electrical inspection means de-energising equipment, opening enclosures, examining terminations, conductors, overcurrent protection and grounding, and photographing what is found before anything is disturbed.
Destructive testing requires written notice of what will be done and the damage it is expected to cause, and agreement between the parties on who performs it. Removing finishes to reach concealed wiring, opening walls at a panel or a feeder run, and pulling devices for examination all fall into that category.
An offer to repair is an engineering question before it is a legal one. Whether the proposed work corrects the condition, whether it addresses the cause rather than the symptom, and whether the installation is compliant when the work is finished are all matters that have to be evaluated on the technical facts. The same applies in reverse where a responding party needs a repair scope developed that will withstand review.
Where the pre-suit process does not resolve the claim, the evaluation carried out during it becomes the foundation of the technical case. The inspection record, the testing and the analysis carry forward, and the engineer who did the work is the one who explains it.
Send us the notice of claim →Both. Vilano Engineering is retained by attorneys, insurers, associations, owners and contractors on either side of a claim.
Before a notice is served, if you are preparing one, so the defects are described in terms that hold up. As soon as one arrives, if you are responding, because the inspection window runs on the statute's schedule.
Yes, where the parties have agreed the protocol. The scope, the expected damage and the person performing it are all matters the statute expects to be set out in advance.
Yes. The work done in the pre-suit period is the technical record, and continuity through to testimony is the point of it.
Florida statewide, and in the other states where the firm is licensed — Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, New York, North Carolina and Texas.
Vilano Engineering, LLC is a licensed engineering firm providing building recertification and safety inspections, infrared thermography, electrical design, expert witness services, developer turnover, and property condition assessments.
Nicholas Strachan, PE
Licensed Professional Engineer — Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, New York, North Carolina, Texas
Certified Level II Thermographer
Licensed Plans Examiner — Florida
25+ years in engineering design, inspection, and quality assurance