PITTSBURGH – A Washington County man says his property sustained significant structural and mold damage as a result of allegedly defective materials supplied by an Ohio lumber company.
Nathaniel W. Cale of Chartiers Township filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Nov. 16 versus Keim Lumber Company, of Charm, Ohio.
“In or around February 2019, plaintiff and Keim Lumber entered into an oral contract with relation to the project, under which Keim Lumber agreed to furnish certain lumber materials for the construction and development of the residential dwelling on the property, including, but not limited to, boards, joists and trusses to be utilized to install the framing throughout the residential dwelling,” the suit says.
“Prior to entering into the oral contract, plaintiff provided Keim Lumber with a full and complete set of the construction drawings and architectural plans for the project, and said drawings and plans identified the specific lumber materials to be used in the construction of the residential dwelling.”
Cale says he spent $93,222.81 to purchase the lumber materials from the defendant.
Following the installation of shingles, doors and windows immediately thereafter, the plaintiff says the residential dwelling was completely “closed in” and waterproofed by May 8, 2019, such that the entire process from the initial construction and/or framing of the residential dwelling to being “under roof” took approximately 28 days to complete.
Though the materials were properly protected from the elements, the plaintiff says after he and his family moved into the home in February 2020, he discovered “certain unevenness, bowing, movement and dimensional instability in the flooring in the kitchen of the subject property” and “the interior and exterior doors of the subject property do not operate properly and are extremely difficult to open.”
The plaintiff adds that the subject joists and lumber materials contained “improper moisture content” and that before the materials were properly dried, he encountered “the rapid development of mold growth upon certain joists that are easily observable, which also creates a potential safety hazard for plaintiff and his family.”
“By failing to properly deliver the joists and lumber materials in accordance with the contract drawings and specifications, as well as the applicable standards of the construction industry, Keim Lumber has materially breached its contractual and warranty obligations to plaintiff. As the direct and proximate result of Keim Lumber’s material breach of its contractual and warranty obligations, plaintiff has incurred, and will continue to incur, significant expenditures to remediate the construction defects,” per the suit.
“In sum, the defective materials as supplied by Keim Lumber for the project has caused plaintiff to sustain significant damages, which, ultimately, has also resulted in the value of the subject property to be severely diminished.”
For counts of breach of contract, negligence and breach of warranty, the plaintiff is seeking in excess of $75,000 in his favor and against defendant, Keim Lumber Company, plus interest, costs of suit and for such other and further relief as this Court deems just and appropriate under the circumstances, and a trial by jury.
The plaintiff is represented by Douglas C. Hart of Burns White, in Pittsburgh.
The defendant has not yet secured legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case 2:20-cv-01763
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com