Ever since 2003, when comprehensive legislation was passed to address abuses in the pursuit by the plaintiff’s bar of windfalls from massively overstated litigation claims regarding alleged construction defects in the construction of residential property in Colorado, there has been a constant “chipping away” at the spirit and letter of that legislation, again by the plaintiff’s bar. That battle has been traditionally voiced as one between the homebuilding industry and the plaintiff’s bar, dealing with the right to contract vs. allegations of consumer abuse.

This past legislative session, however, found new constituents and a different perspective on what was previously a traditional battle at the statehouse between the above-mentioned foes. This year, a broad-ranging coalition that included the Metro Mayors Caucus, major segments of the affordable housing community and the general business community came together to address what their research showed as an astonishing lack of construction of ownership attached housing. There was a continuing boom going on in the development of multifamily “rental” housing, but an even more unusual deficit in multifamily “ownership” housing...

Originally published in the Colorado Real Estate Journal - June 4, 2014 – June 17, 2014.