Foley & Mansfield Obtains Summary Judgment in Favor of Client

 MINNEAPOLIS (February 1, 2007) –   Attorneys David Dahlmeier and Joseph Barnett successfully defended a Foley & Mansfield client by obtaining an Order for summary judgment in favor of Lindstrom Cleaning & Construction, Inc.  The Order dismissed Plaintiffs’ Complaint, which included damages for purported construction defects, water intrusion, and personal injury from mold contamination.  The Court held that Plaintiffs failed to commence their action within the two-year statute of limitations for claims arising out of improvements to property.

In 1999, a fire damaged Plaintiffs’ home.  Plaintiffs’ hired Lindstrom Cleaning & Construction, Inc. to repair the damage.  The repairs included rebuilding an addition located over a crawl space and cleaning fire and water damage.  In February 2002, Plaintiffs became concerned about mold contamination in their home.  They hired a company to perform an inspection, which revealed fungal growth in several areas of the basement.  The mold in the home purportedly exacerbated one the Plaintiffs’ allergies and asthma.  Plaintiffs then began submitting claims to their homeowner’s insurers.

Plaintiffs attributed the fungal growth to work performed by Lindstrom Cleaning & Construction because they purportedly did not have mold in the home prior to the fire.  Documents produced during discovery established that Plaintiffs had knowledge of the mold in February 2002, but they did not commence suit against Lindstrom Cleaning & Construction until December 2004.  The Court, in granting the motion filed by Messrs Dahlmeier and Barnett, agreed that Plaintiffs’ claims were not timely under Minnesota’s two-year statute of limitations for improvements to real property.  (Click here for pdf of the Summary Judgment Order)

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