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2006 Pennsylvania Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (2006)

handle is hein.sag/sagpa0009 and id is 1 raw text is: COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL HARRISBURG, PA 17120 16TH FLOOR ATTORNEY GENERAL STRAWBERRY SQUARE March 14. 2006 HARRISBURG, PA 17120 (717) 787-3391 The Honorable Edward G. Rendell Governor Room 225. Main Capitol Building Harrisburg, PA 17120 Dear Governor Rendell: You have requested our opinion pursuant to Section 204(a) of the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, 72 P.S. 732-204(a), regarding the constitutionality of House Bill No. 1467 (HB 1467), which has been passed by both houses of the General Assembly and presented to you for approval or veto. Upon careful review, and after consulting with the Office of General Counsel, we have concluded that HB1467 violates Article III, Section 18 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, and that its constitutionality under Article V, Section 10(c) is suspect. Article III, Section 18 authorizes the General Assembly to enact workers compensation laws, but provides otherwise, in relevant part, that in no other cases shall the General Assembly limit the amount to be recovered for injuries resulting in death, or for injuries to persons or property....' HB1467 would establish a mandatory procedure for claiming damages or other relief against a contractor because of a construction defect in a dwelling. The claimant would be required to follow the procedure prior to filing a lawsuit and as a condition of recovering the full amount of damages to which the claimant would be entitled by law upon successful prosecution of such lawsuit. The bill provides in Section 4 that [tihis act shall not apply to any claim for personal injury or death. The bill does not similarly exempt a claim for injury to property. The bill proceeds in Section 5(h) to limit the amount that a claimant may recover in a lawsuit seeking damages or other relief on account of a construction defect in a dwelling. The limit set by Section 5(h) is conditional in that a claimant may recover the full amount of damages to which the claimant would be entitled by law if, in the mandatory procedure, the contractor offers the claimant either no monetary settlement or repair or a monetary settlement or repair that a judge or jury later determines to have been unreasonable. A conditional limitation, particularly one that hinges on so tenuous a thread as a claimant's prediction of how a judge or jury later will view the reasonableness of a contractor's offer. nonetheless is a limitation on the amount that a claimant may recover for an injury to property. which Article III. Section 18 prohibits.

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