The plaintiffs began the construction of their home in 1995. As part of the building process, they purchased windows at a local business which were installed by a general contractor. Two years later, the plaintiffs noticed water stains and dampness in the walls beneath the windows. Despite repairs, the problems continued and resulted in significant damage to the walls, carpet, insulation, garage, etc. When the plaintiffs’ daughter suffered an allergic reaction to the moldy, rotten wood and insulation, the plaintiffs filed sued to recover for property damage and personal injury.
The trial court granted the plaintiff’s requests to demolish their home and the appellate court affirmed. But, the outcome was different on the underlying property damage and personal injury claims. Under Iowa law, the statute of limitations for property damage is five years from the date of the damage, while it is two years from the date of the injury for personal injury actions. The two-year and five-year time periods are triggered when a reasonable person would have discovered either the property damage or the injury. The appellate court determined that the plaintiffs had knowledge of the property damage for more than five years before they filed a claim which allowed the damage to worsen. As for the personal injury claim, both the plaintiffs’ daughter and the plaintiffs themselves knew of her allergic reaction for over two years before the suit was filed. So, the case was time-barred even though the plaintiffs may not have discovered all of the injuries sustained at the time the statute ran on the respective claims. Bradley v. Manternach, No. 7-490/06-1622, 2007 Iowa App. LEXIS 1214 (Iowa. Ct. App., Nov. 15, 2007).