Can New Roofs Leak?

Let’s say you need a roof on the new home you are building. You hire Joe the Roofer to do the job. You wake up one day to find water leaking from your new roof. At least you have not paid the last instalment on his contract.

Now you need a new paint job on your inside walls and someone to repair the leak. You blame Joe, who points the finger at other causes beyond his control. But you can prove that you are right. At least you think so.

You visit a lawyer, Tom, whose nickname is the “Terminator”, and he recommends you sue and go to court. He threatens legal action against Joe the Roofer. Joe claims your leaky roof is the architect’s fault or is caused by defective roof materials.

Everyone blames someone else. They all hire a lawyer to protect themselves.

Now you have three different explanations for your leaky roof and three different lawyers fighting you. Each lawyer says his/her client is not responsible for the water damage.

Your lawyer tells you to sue all three of them. The battle to repair your roof moves into the legal arena. Now you see the shenanigans that occur in our adversarial trial system.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post to find out what happens next.