James R. and Marjatta A. HERSHEY, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Appellees. v. RICH ROSEN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, an Arizona corporation, Defendant-Appellant, 169 Ariz. 110

Summary

Appellee subsequent home purchasers brought an action against appellant construction company for damages caused by faulty stucco application when the house was built. At the time of purchase, appellees personally inspected the house and saw no defects in the stucco. The trial court entered judgment for appellees, holding that the damage was due to poor workmanship and that the statute of limitations did not bar the claim. Appellant sought review, and the court affirmed. The court held that the implied warranty of habitability extended to subsequent purchasers, and that while limited to latent defects which could not be discovered during a reasonable inspection, there was no requirement that such inspection was to be performed by an expert. Rather, the warranty was only voided if defects would have been discovered by an average purchaser. The court further held that the statute of limitations was not a bar to the claim because the duration of the warranty was to be determined by the ...