Breach of Contract and Warranty Claims Dismissed in Construction Defect Case

The Patterson Law Firm and attorney Jason W. Miller obtained dismissal of breach of contract and warranty claims advanced against firm clients in a construction defect claim.  The dismissal was based on application of the ten year statute of limitation, found in Iowa Code section 614.1(5), as applied to written contracts for the sale of goods under Iowa Code section 557.2725.  In granting the pre-answer motion to dismiss, the Court agreed that equitable tolling principals did not operate to extend the time for filing the breach of contract and breach of warranty claims.  Specifically, the Court agreed with the arguments set forth by the Patterson Law Firm that the “discovery rule” did not apply to the limitation period found in Iowa Code section 554.2725, and that there were no grounds pled for application of equitable estoppel principals.