Luana Savings Bank v. Pro-Build Holdings, Inc. and United Building Centers , 856 N.W.2d 892 ( 2014 )

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
No. 13–0060
Filed December 12, 2014
LUANA SAVINGS BANK,
Appellant,
vs.
PRO-BUILD HOLDINGS, INC. and UNITED BUILDING CENTERS,
Appellees.
On review from the Iowa Court of Appeals.
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Allamakee County, John J.
Bauercamper, Judge.
Lender acquiring apartment buildings by deed in lieu of foreclosure
seeks further review of court of appeals decision affirming summary
judgment that dismissed claim against builder under implied warranty of
workmanlike construction. DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS
AFFIRMED; DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT AFFIRMED IN PART,
REVERSED IN PART, AND CASE REMANDED.
Dale L. Putnam of Putnam Law Office, Decorah, for appellant.
Samuel C. Anderson of Swisher & Cohrt, P.L.C., Waterloo, for
appellees.
2
WATERMAN, Justice.
In this interlocutory appeal, we must decide whether to extend the
implied warranty of workmanlike construction to protect a bank that
acquired a mold-infested apartment complex by deed in lieu of
foreclosure. The bank sued the builder under that theory, alleging
shoddy construction. This implied warranty “is a judicially created
doctrine implemented to protect an innocent home buyer by holding the
experienced builder accountable for the quality of construction.” Speight
v. Walters Dev. Co., 744 N.W.2d 108, 110 (Iowa 2008). In Speight, we
extended the doctrine to allow a subsequent purchaser of a single-family
residence to sue the builder for latent defects. Id. at 113–14. 1 The
plaintiff bank argues it is in a position analogous to a subsequent
homeowner. The district court disagreed and granted the builder’s
motion for summary judgment dismissing that theory. The court of
appeals affirmed, appropriately deferring to our court to decide whether
to further extend this implied warranty.
We hold the bank may not recover under the implied warranty of
workmanlike construction. No other court has extended the theory to
allow claims by foreclosing lenders. Additionally, a clear majority of
courts decline to allow recovery by for-profit owners of apartment
buildings. The doctrine’s rationale does not support extending it to the
bank. We created the doctrine to redress the disparity in bargaining
power and expertise between homeowners and professional builders, and
to provide a remedy for consumers living in defectively constructed
1InRosauer Corp. v. Sapp Development, L.L.C., decided today, we further explore
the history and rationales for the implied warranty of workmanlike construction and
decline to extend the doctrine to the sale of lots between developers. ____ N.W.2d ____
(Iowa 2014).
3
homes. We see no valid policy reason to extend the implied warranty
doctrine to a sophisticated financial institution that can protect itself
through other measures. Accordingly, we affirm the summary judgment
dismissing the bank’s implied warranty theory.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings.
This litigation arose from the discovery of black mold infesting two
apartment buildings in Postville, Iowa. Luana Savings Bank (bank)
financed the construction of the buildings. The borrowers, Ronald Wahls
and Karen Wahls, acting as officers of RO-KA Acres, Inc. (RO-KA),
purchased farmland to develop into the RO-KA Heights First Addition in
2002. The bank financed their purchase through a line of credit secured
by an open-ended mortgage. RO-KA subdivided the land into twenty-one
lots and sold nine lots to various buyers over the next several years. In
May of 2006, the bank filed a foreclosure action against RO-KA for
amounts due on promissory notes.
On July 1, RO-KA entered into a real estate contract with
Amereeka Properties, LLC (Amereeka) conveying its remaining interest in
the RO-KA Heights Addition in exchange for a purchase price of
$1,231,000. This land included lots 15 and 16, at issue in this case.
The agreement between Amereeka and RO-KA contained provisions
assigning all payments on the purchase price to the bank until RO-KA’s
indebtedness to the bank was satisfied. In exchange, the bank agreed to
dismiss the foreclosure action. Amereeka’s president was Shalom
Rubashkin, an owner of Agriprocessors Inc., a kosher meatpacking plant.
The bank’s chief financial officer, Collin Cook, testified he understood
Amereeka was formed to avoid the perception that Rubashkin owned the
apartment buildings where many employees of Agriprocessors lived.
4
RO-KA and Amereeka entered into a separate management
agreement. RO-KA agreed to manage the existing apartment complexes
on lots 12 and 13 of RO-KA Heights, as well as any other apartments to
be built on the land. At this time, lots 15 and 16 were undeveloped. On
July 28, Ronald Wahls entered into a written contract for materials and
labor with United Building Centers (UBC), the predecessor of Pro-Build
Holdings, Inc. (Pro-Build), to construct two twelve-plex apartment
buildings on lots 15 and 16. Wahls signed the contract in his own name
instead of as an agent for RO-KA or Amereeka. The plans for
construction were based on the floor plans of the existing apartment
complexes. Construction began in 2006 and was completed in 2007.
RO-KA managed the new buildings under its existing management
agreement. Amereeka executed an open-ended mortgage on the property
it had purchased from RO-KA in favor of the bank. Amereeka also
executed a commercial security agreement securing a commercial real
estate loan made by the bank to Nevel Properties, Inc., Amereeka’s
parent company. The proceeds of that loan were used to pay for the
construction of the apartment buildings on lots 15 and 16.
On May 12, 2008, federal immigration and customs enforcement
(ICE) agents raided Agriprocessors and arrested nearly 400
undocumented workers who were charged with a variety of immigration-
related criminal offenses. United States v. Rubashkin, 718 F. Supp. 2d
953, 964 (N.D. Iowa 2010). On November 4, Agriprocessors filed a
bankruptcy petition, and its assets ultimately were sold. Id. at 966–67.
Rubashkin was indicted for bank fraud and other financial and
immigration crimes, convicted, and sentenced to prison. United States v.
Rubashkin, 655 F.3d 849, 854–55 (8th Cir. 2011).
5
In 2009, both RO-KA and Amereeka defaulted on their obligations
to the bank. RO-KA quitclaimed its interest in the properties at RO-KA
Heights to the bank in February of 2009 in exchange for a release of its
remaining obligations to the bank. On June 26, Amereeka gave the bank
a “Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure” signed by Rubashkin conveying all of the
property it owned in RO-KA Heights to the bank as a release from
liability under the mortgage, including lots 15 and 16. After acquiring
ownership in the apartment complexes, the bank discovered substantial
black mold in the units. Investigation revealed that the mold resulted
from improper installation of windows and air-conditioning units, and
inadequate attic ventilation.
The bank commenced this action by filing a petition against Pro-
Build in Allamakee County. Count I of the petition alleged negligence in
the construction of apartments for Amereeka. Count II alleged that Pro-
Build breached the implied warranty of workmanlike construction.
Count III alleged that Pro-Build breached an oral contract with Amereeka
for the construction of the apartments. The bank sought recovery of its
holding costs as well as the cost of repairs to remediate the mold. Pro-
Build moved for summary judgment on all three counts. The district
court granted summary judgment in favor of Pro-Build on counts I 2 and
II, but denied summary judgment on count III to determine if the bank
was a third-party beneficiary of Wahls’ contract with UBC. The bank
applied for an interlocutory appeal of the summary judgment on count II.
Pro-Build resisted the application and conditionally applied for
interlocutory appeal of the order denying summary judgment on count
2The bank does not challenge the order dismissing count I, its negligence theory.
Accordingly, the economic loss doctrine is not at issue in this appeal.
6
III. We granted both applications and transferred the case to the court of
appeals. The court of appeals affirmed the summary judgment
dismissing the implied warranty claim, reversed the order denying
summary judgment on the third-party beneficiary theory, and remanded
the case for entry of judgment of dismissal against the bank. We granted
further review to decide whether to extend the implied warranty of
workmanlike construction to a lender acquiring multiplex apartment
buildings by deed in lieu of foreclosure.
II. Scope of Review.
We review rulings that grant summary judgment for correction of
errors at law. Parish v. Jumpking, Inc., 719 N.W.2d 540, 542 (Iowa
2006). Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine
issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a
matter of law. Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.981(3). We view the evidence in the light
most favorable to the nonmoving party. Parish, 719 N.W.2d at 543.
On further review, we have discretion to choose which issues to
address. Hills Bank & Trust Co. v. Converse, 772 N.W.2d 764, 770 (Iowa
2009). We exercise our discretion to limit our review to the implied
warranty of workmanlike construction. The court of appeals decision on
the third-party-beneficiary claim shall stand as the final appellate
decision on that issue. See id.
III. Analysis.
We must decide whether to extend the implied warranty of
workmanlike construction to a lender that acquires a multiunit
residential apartment complex by a deed in lieu of foreclosure. This is a
question of first impression in Iowa. We conclude the bank’s implied
warranty claim fails for several reasons. First, the bank is not the type of
innocent homeowner the implied warranty was adopted in Iowa to
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protect. Second, Pro-Build is not the type of builder-vendor subject to
the implied warranty. Third, the requested extension to a foreclosing
lender is not supported by caselaw in other jurisdictions. Finally, the
policy reasons underlying the implied warranty do not support its
extension to a foreclosing lender.
The implied warranty of workmanlike construction adopted for the
protection of homeowners in our state was an extension of Mease v. Fox,
200 N.W.2d 791, 796 (Iowa 1972), 3 which adopted an implied warranty
of habitability for a tenant leasing a home. See Kirk v. Ridgway, 373
N.W.2d 491, 496 (Iowa 1985) (describing the adoption of the implied
warranty for homeowners as a “logical extension” of Mease). In Kirk, we
required proof “the house was constructed to be occupied by the
[plaintiff] warrantee as a home.” Id. We extended the warranty to
subsequent home purchasers in Speight, 744 N.W.2d at 113–14. In
Rosauer Corp. v. Sapp Development, decided today, we explore in more
depth the history of the implied warranty of workmanlike construction in
Iowa and the policy reasons supporting the doctrine. ___ N.W.2d ___, ___
(Iowa 2014) (declining to extend the doctrine to the sale of a lot without a
dwelling). We reiterated that the primary policy behind these warranties
is the protection of innocent homeowners as consumers. Id. We adopted
the warranty to address the disparity in bargaining power and expertise
between the consumer and the sophisticated builder-vendor. Id. The
bank’s effort to recover from Pro-Build under this implied warranty as a
3The common law implied warranty of habitability judicially adopted in Mease to
protect tenants has been legislatively codified by the Uniform Residential Landlord and
Tenant Act, Iowa Code chapter 562A. See Crawford v. Yotty, 828 N.W.2d 295, 299
(Iowa 2013).
8
foreclosing lender is akin to trying to pound a square peg into a round
hole.
A. The Elements of the Implied Warranty Theory in Iowa. In
Kirk, we adopted the following “generally recognized” elements for the
implied warranty of workmanlike construction:
(1) That the house was constructed to be occupied by
the warrantee as a home;
(2) that the house was purchased from a builder-
vendor, who had constructed it for the purpose of sale;
(3) that when sold, the house was not reasonably fit for
its intended purpose or had not been constructed in a good
and workmanlike manner;
(4) that, at the time of purchase, the buyer was
unaware of the defect and had no reasonable means of
discovering it; and
(5) that by reason of the defective condition the buyer
suffered damages.
Kirk, 373 N.W.2d at 496; see also, Rosauer, ___ N.W.2d at ___ (applying
same elements to reject extension of implied warranty to developer’s
purchase of lot without dwelling). The bank asks us to eliminate or
modify the first and second elements of the implied warranty of
workmanlike construction currently recognized in Iowa. We decline to do
so.
1. The house was constructed to be occupied by the plaintiff-
warrantee as a home. The first element limits the potential class of
plaintiffs to innocent home buyers for whose benefit we created the
warranty. See Kirk, 373 N.W.2d at 496. The bank does not occupy
either building as its home or office. The bank instead argues that the
apartment complex is comprised of multiple residences for the tenants
who live there. The bank, however, does not purport to bring implied
warranty claims on behalf of the tenants. Nor does the bank seek
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recovery based on any assignment of an implied warranty claim of the
occupants or purchaser. We have never allowed an implied warranty
claim to be brought by a lender that has succeeded to ownership. We
are not persuaded to abandon the first element of the Kirk test to allow
recovery by the bank. See Rosauer, ___ N.W.2d at ___ (declining to
extend the implied warranty beyond innocent home buyers who live in
the defective structure).
2. The defendant must be a builder-vendor constructing homes on
land it owns for resale. Just as the first element limits the class of
potential plaintiffs, the second element of the Kirk test limits the class of
potential defendants to builder-vendors who own the structures they
build to sell on land they own. In Kirk, we adopted the following
definition for the term “builder-vendor”:
“[A] person who is in the business of building or assembling
homes designed for dwelling purposes upon land owned by
him, and who then sells the houses, either after they are
completed or during the course of their construction,
together with the tracts of land upon which they are
situated, to members of the buying public.
The term ‘builder’ denotes a general building
contractor who controls and directs the construction of a
building, has ultimate responsibility for a completion of the
whole contract and for putting the structure into permanent
form thus, necessarily excluding merchants, material men,
artisans, laborers, subcontractors, and employees of a
general contractor.”
Kirk, 373 N.W.2d at 496 (quoting Jeanguneat v. Jackie Hames Constr.
Co., 576 P.2d 761, 762 n.1 (Okla. 1978)). Other jurisdictions have
adopted essentially the same definition. See Elderkin v. Gaster, 288 A.2d
771, 774 n.10 (Pa. 1972) (“A builder-vendor . . . refers to one who buys
land and builds homes upon that land for purposes of sale to the general
public.”); Frickel v. Sunnyside Enters., Inc., 725 P.2d 422, 424–25 (Wash.
10
1986) (en banc); Bagnowski v. Preway, Inc., 405 N.W.2d 746, 750 (Wis.
Ct. App. 1987).
We reaffirmed Kirk’s definition of builder-vendor in Flom v. Stahly,
569 N.W.2d 135 (Iowa 1997). In Flom, a defendant physician and his
wife began construction of a home on land they owned, intending to live
in it. Id. at 137. Before completing construction, the Stahlys moved out
of state and sold the uncompleted home to the Floms. Id. at 137–38.
When wood in the home began to rot, the Floms sued for breach of the
implied warranty of workmanlike construction, among other claims. Id.
at 138–39. We rejected this extension of Kirk because the Stahlys did
not meet the second element of the Kirk test—they were not builder-
vendors building a home for the purpose of sale to the public. Id. at 142.
Because they intended to live in the house themselves and had never
built a home before, the Stahlys did not have the same unequal
relationship with the Floms that a professional builder-vendor would
have with a purchaser.
The bank argues our extension of the implied warranty to
subsequent purchasers in Speight supports a further extension in this
case. Although Speight expanded the class of plaintiffs permitted to sue
for breach of implied warranty to encompass later home buyers, it did
not expand the permissible defendants beyond traditional builder-
vendors. As an Illinois appellate court recognized, precedent relaxing the
privity requirement to allow a subsequent homeowner to bring the
implied warranty claim did not support expanding the types of
defendants liable under the doctrine. Wash. Courte Condo. Ass’n-Four v.
Wash.-Golf Corp., 501 N.E.2d 1290, 1296 (Ill. App. Ct. 1986) (holding as
matter of law owners’ implied warranty claim failed against
subcontractors when general contractor was solvent).
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Pro-Build argues that it is not a builder-vendor under Kirk and
Flom and, therefore, cannot be a defendant in an implied warranty case.
We agree. Ronald Wahls approached Pro-Build’s predecessor UBC with a
set of plans modeled after the existing apartments on lots 11 and 12.
The contract between UBC and Wahls was entitled “Contract Agreement
for Materials & Labor” and never referred to UBC as a general contractor.
Neither UBC nor Pro-Build owned the land on which the construction
took place, nor did either build the multiplexes to sell to the public.
Rather, UBC was paid directly for its work by Wahls, who acted as the
developer on behalf of Amereeka to construct the apartments and
exercised control over the course of construction. Missing from this case
is the disparity in bargaining power and expertise between the parties
that motivated us in Kirk and Speight to allow recovery under the implied
warranty theory. See Rosauer, ___ N.W.2d at ___. We decline the bank’s
invitation to eliminate or modify the second element of the Kirk test. The
bank’s implied warranty claim fails because Pro-Build was not a builder-
vendor as defined in Kirk.
B. Caselaw from Other Jurisdictions. In Kirk, we examined the
caselaw of other jurisdictions to decide whether to adopt the implied
warranty of workmanlike construction in the sale of single-family
residences. 373 N.W.2d at 495. In Speight, we again surveyed the
caselaw of other jurisdictions to decide whether to extend the implied
warranty to subsequent purchasers of a single-family home. 744 N.W.2d
at 111–14. Similarly, we will now survey the cases from other states that
adjudicate whether to recognize the implied warranty in the sale of
multiunit apartment complexes when the plaintiff is not purchasing the
property to live in it.
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The bank cites no decision from any jurisdiction extending the
implied warranty of workmanlike construction to a lender acquiring
property by deed in lieu of foreclosure. Nor have we found such a
decision in our independent research. 4 Moreover, courts in other states
are divided on whether to extend the implied warranty to investment
property or multiunit apartment complexes.
Most jurisdictions that have considered the issue have limited the
implied warranty remedy to purchasers who actually live on the
premises. See, e.g., Hopkins v. Hartman, 427 N.E.2d 1337, 1339 (Ill.
App. Ct. 1981) (concluding that an investor in income-producing
property has different pressures than a home buyer and should not be
protected by an implied warranty); Korte Constr. Co. v. Deaconess Manor
Ass’n, 927 S.W.2d 395, 405 n.4 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996) (noting the “implied
warranty of habitability applies only to newly-constructed houses [and
that t]he development in this case is more akin to an apartment complex
than a house” (citation omitted)); Sedona Condo. Homeowners Ass’n, Inc.
v. Camden Dev., Inc., No. 57052, 2012 WL 6681941, at *2 n.2 (Nev. 2012)
(declining to extend implied warranty to builder-vendors of apartment
complexes); Hays v. Gilliam, 655 S.W.2d 158, 160–61 (Tenn. Ct. App.
1983) (“[T]he purchaser of an apartment house is not a ‘naive home
buyer’, but an investor in a commercial enterprise.”); Frickel, 725 P.2d at
425 (declining to extend implied warranty to an investor in an apartment
4In Amsterdam Savings Bank, FSB v. Marine Midland Bank, N.A., a bank, as
mortgagee, acquired an apartment complex by foreclosure and sued the builder under
several theories including breach of implied warranty. 504 N.Y.S.2d 563, 565 (App. Div
1986). However, New York law at that time did not recognize the implied warranty of
workmanlike construction, and the action was dismissed because the sale of a
mortgage was not a “sale of goods” under New York law. Id.
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complex because an investor has an opportunity to inspect and
investigate).
Some jurisdictions have allowed owners of condominiums who
reside in the units to bring suit either as an association or individually.
See, e.g., Lofts at Fillmore Condo. Ass’n v. Reliance Commercial Constr.,
Inc., 190 P.3d 733, 736–37 (Ariz. 2008) (en banc) (allowing a
condominium association to serve as a plaintiff on behalf of purchasers
of condominiums); Herlihy v. Dunbar Builders Corp., 415 N.E.2d 1224,
1225 (Ill. App. Ct. 1980) (allowing the owner of one condominium to
bring suit on behalf of all similarly situated unit owners). These cases
are distinguishable because the bank is not a purchaser living in the
property.
The Hopkins court elaborated on the distinction between buying a
home to live in and purchasing a multiunit dwelling for profit:
The motivations upon those seeking income-producing
property, as well as the pressures upon them, are
considerably different from those of the vendee described in
Petersen [v. Hubschman Construction Co., 389 N.E.2d 1154
(1979)]. The income-seeker, whether he be purchasing
common stocks, chattels, real estate, or any other form of
investment, has ample opportunity to investigate, study,
appraise and assess the relative merits and demerits of the
subject matter and then to make a calculated judgment as to
how profitable it will be. In contrast, the Petersen vendee is
seeking shelter for himself and his family, oftentimes under
considerable pressure brought about by job transfer,
increase in family, deterioration of his former neighborhood,
or other circumstance over which he has no control. If the
Petersen warranty is to be extended to an investor in real
estate, by extension of logic the Board of Governors of the
New York Stock Exchange should warrant that no common
stock traded there will ever decrease in value. The relaxation
of the rules of caveat emptor and merger by the supreme
court was intended to protect a consumer, not an investor.
427 N.E.2d at 1339. We are persuaded by this distinction between
purchasers of income-producing properties and home buyers who live in
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the property. The bank does not purport to bring implied warranty
claims by or through the residents of the multiplexes. Under the
majority rule, the bank cannot recover under the implied warranty
theory.
Several courts have extended the implied warranty of workmanlike
construction to buyers of commercial property. See Pollard v. Saxe &
Yolles Dev. Co., 525 P.2d 88, 91 (Cal. 1974) (extending implied warranty
for new construction to purchasers of an apartment complex); Tusch
Enters. v. Coffin, 740 P.2d 1022, 1031–32 (Idaho 1987) (extending an
implied warranty of habitability to residential dwellings purchased for
income-producing purposes but never occupied by the buyers); Hodgson
v. Chin, 403 A.2d 942, 945 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1979) (extending
implied warranty of fitness for intended purpose to a buyer of a small
building when the building was in part a residential space and in part a
commercial space); cf. Davidow v. Inwood N. Prof’l Grp.—Phase I, 747
S.W.2d 373, 376–77 (Tex. 1988) (extending an implied warranty of
suitability in commercial leases analogous to implied warranty of
habitability in a residential lease).
Tusch Enterprises, decided by a divided Idaho Supreme Court,
explicitly extended the implied warranty to investors buying apartment
buildings for income-producing purposes. 740 P.2d at 1031. 5 The
5In Speight, we quoted a commentator who in turn quoted Tusch Enterprises for
an entirely different proposition, as follows:
Further, the purpose of the implied warranty of workmanlike
construction is to ensure the home “ ‘will be fit for habitation,’ a matter
that ‘depends upon the quality of the dwelling delivered’ not the status of
the buyer.” [Mary Dee] Pridgen, [Consumer Protection and the Law,]
§ 18:19 [(2006)] (quoting Tusch Enters. v. Coffin, 113 Idaho 37, 740 P.2d
1022 (1987)).
Speight, 744 N.W.2d at 113. In Speight, we extended the implied warranty to a
subsequent purchaser who lived in the home. Id. at 114. We noted other jurisdictions
15
majority in Tusch Enterprises cited no caselaw supporting that extension,
instead reasoning by analogy to the Uniform Commercial Code’s use of
implied warranties on the sale of goods between merchants. Id. The
dissent would have declined to extend the warranty to investors
purchasing income-producing commercial properties. Id. at 1039
(Shepard, C.J., dissenting). The dissent criticized the majority for taking
an “enormous step . . . which will resound through the construction and
real estate business in Idaho.” Id. at 1037. For the dissent, the relative
sophistication of the parties was a crucial distinction. Id. at 1038 (“The
plaintiffs in this case . . . are not unknowing buyers of a residence built
by an unscrupulous builder/developer. Rather, plaintiffs are a
sophisticated and knowledgeable group of investors in real estate.”). The
dissent described investors in income-producing property as a “far cry”
from the ordinary buyer of a new house that the implied warranty was
adopted to protect. See id. at 1038–39. We agree with that distinction.
Since Tusch Enterprises was decided in 1987, no other court has followed
it to extend the protection of the implied warranty of habitability to
investors purchasing apartment buildings for income-producing
purposes, much less to foreclosing lenders. Even the Tusch Enterprises
majority opinion did not extend the implied warranty to a bank acquiring
apartment buildings by a deed in lieu of foreclosure, as the bank asks us
to do today.
There are several reasons not to extend the implied warranty to
lenders. For one thing, as far as the lender is concerned, the property is
______________________
extended the implied warranty to subsequent purchasers. Id. at 112 n.2 (citing
numerous cases including Tusch Enterprises). But, we extended the protection of the
implied warranty to home buyers living in the defectively built house, not investors
purchasing apartment buildings as income-producing property.
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not the lender’s return on the transaction; it serves only as the collateral
securing repayment of a loan. A defective dwelling is not the same
problem for the lender that it is for the homeowner living in it so long as
the borrower can repay the loan. Moreover, lenders can protect
themselves in a variety of ways. For example, in this case, the bank
could have stated in the loan documents that, upon default, all claims of
Wahls against other parties (such as Pro-Build) would be assigned to the
bank. See Red Giant Oil Co. v. Lawlor, 528 N.W.2d 524, 533 (Iowa 1995)
(recognizing assignability of causes of action). A lender presumably
could obtain a default judgment against its borrower and proceed to levy
on his cause of action. See Steffens v. Am. Standard Ins. Co. of Wis., 181
N.W.2d 174, 176 (Iowa 1970) (“Iowa has adopted the broad form of
statutory execution authorizing levy on choses in action.”). At oral
argument, the bank’s counsel explained that Wahls filed for bankruptcy,
but did not explain why the bank did not attempt to obtain Wahls’ cause
of action against Pro-Build in that bankruptcy proceeding, either by
purchasing the asset for a nominal amount or by convincing the trustee
to abandon it. See 11 U.S.C. § 554 (2012). A lender financing
construction could arrange inspections 6 or purchase warranties. In this
6In oral argument, counsel for the bank suggested that a lender that inspected
construction work or approved plans could open itself up to liability to future
purchasers. This concern is overblown. Under Kirk, only a builder-vendor is liable for
implied warranty of workmanlike construction. 373 N.W.2d at 496. A lender merely
conducting inspections or approving plans does not become a builder-vendor. See id. at
496 (defining builder-vendor as a person who builds a home on land he owns, then sells
the home and land together to the buying public). Further, lenders can disclaim
implied warranties. Henry v. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n of Greene Cnty., 459 A.2d
772, 775 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1983) (holding lender that contracted to inspect “for its own
protection” and stipulated it assumed “no responsibility for completion of said building”
could not be sued on a breach of warranty of quality). Finally, courts have rejected
liability for lenders that do not take over the actual construction:
The bank cannot be said to have warranted the construction because it
did not do the construction work. The status of the bank is not changed
17
case, it is entirely unclear that the bank is less sophisticated than Pro-
Build, a labor and materials supplier. If anything, it appears the bank
may be more sophisticated.
C. The Policy of the Implied Warranty in Iowa. We conclude
the policies underlying the implied warranty of workmanlike construction
in Iowa do not support its extension to a foreclosing lender. We adopted
the implied warranty in Kirk and extended it in Speight for the protection
of innocent home buyers to address their disparity in expertise and
bargaining power with sophisticated builder vendors. See Speight, 744
N.W.2d at 110 (The implied warranty “is a judicially created doctrine
______________________
by the fact that its officers reviewed and approved the original plans and
specifications. Such actions by the bank are for the protection of its
security and not for the benefit of future buyers.
Smith v. Cont’l Bank, 636 P.2d 98, 100 (Ariz. 1981); see also Rice v. First Fed. Sav. &
Loan Ass’n of Lake Cnty., 207 So. 2d 22, 23 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1968) (concluding that a
lender is under no duty to inspect the progress of construction for the benefit of anyone
but itself).
Courts have recognized lender liability for construction defects only under
limited circumstances not present in this case. South Carolina, for example, has
allowed claims against a lender if it is also a developer, is aware of defects but conceals
them, or “when the lender becomes highly involved with construction in a manner that
is not normal commercial practice [because] it is so amalgamated with the developer or
builder so as to blur its legal distinction.” Kennedy v. Columbia Lumber & Mfg. Co., 384
S.E.2d 730, 734 (S.C. 1989). The lender’s liability is limited to defects in the work
performed by the lender:
In both Kirkman [v. Parex, Inc., 632 S.E.2d 854 (S.C. 2006),] and
Roundtree [Villas Ass’n, Inc. v. 4701 Kings Corp., 321 S.E.2d 46 (S.C.
1984),] the lender actually assumed some degree of control of the
property, made improvements thereon, and/or was partner in efforts to
sell the same. In fact, in Roundtree, even though a duty of care was
found, it was expressly limited to the repairs the lender actually
performed. Likewise, in Kirkman, whether or not the lender had
impliedly warranted the house turned on whether or not it was
“substantially involved in completing the house.”
Regions Bank v. Coll. Ave. Dev., LLC, Civil Action No. 8:09-1095-RBH, BHH, 2010 WL
985298, at *7 (D.S.C. Jan. 22, 2010) (citations omitted), report and recommendation
adopted as modified, 2010 WL 973480 (D.S.C. Mar. 10, 2010). These cases make clear
that a lender may inspect and monitor construction to protect its interest in the
security for its loan without assuming liability for construction defects.
18
implemented to protect an innocent home buyer by holding the
experienced builder accountable for the quality of construction.”); Kirk,
373 N.W.2d at 493–94 (noting increased interest in consumer
protection); see also Rosauer, ___ N.W.2d at ___ (discussing policies
underlying implied warranty and declining to extend it to a developer
purchasing a lot). We will not equate financial institutions with home
buyers. See Frickel, 725 P.2d at 425 (describing the purchase of an
apartment complex as an “arm’s length transaction” and contrasting that
with the unequal bargaining position of the average home buyer). As we
discuss above, before extending credit a lender generally can protect
itself against defects in the construction it finances through its own due
diligence and by express contractual provisions with its borrowers
(including assignments of claims against the builder). Cf. Hays, 655
S.W.2d at 161 (noting that investor-purchaser of apartment building can
protect itself through inspections and express warranties). The Hays
court aptly observed: “If the courts undertake to establish implied
warranties on used buildings, especially multi-family buildings bought
for investment, they will enter a morass of controversy and uncertainty
through which no clear, reliable road may be charted.” Id. We share
these concerns. Financial institutions, like professional investors in real
estate, do not need the protection of judicially created implied
warranties. The bank simply is not the type of innocent consumer the
implied warranty of workmanlike construction was judicially adopted to
protect.
IV. Disposition.
For these reasons, we hold the implied warranty of workmanlike
construction does not extend to a lender acquiring apartment buildings
by a deed in lieu of foreclosure. We affirm the decision of the court of
19
appeals and affirm the district court judgment dismissing the bank’s
implied warranty claim. The district court’s ruling denying summary
judgment on the bank’s contract claim is reversed, and this case is
remanded for entry of a judgment of dismissal.
DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS AFFIRMED; DISTRICT
COURT JUDGMENT AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND
CASE REMANDED.
All justices concur except Wiggins, Hecht, and Appel, JJ., who
dissent.
20
#13–0060, Luana Sav. Bank v. Pro-Build Holdings
WIGGINS, Justice (dissenting).
When deciding whether to extend the common law, we do not
choose a rule merely because a majority of those jurisdictions has or has
not decided to extend the common law. Instead, we look at the policy
behind the rule and decide if the policy behind the rule is sound.
A few years back, we extended the implied warranty of
workmanlike construction to subsequent purchasers of improved
property. Speight v. Walters Dev. Co., 744 N.W.2d 108, 116 (Iowa 2008).
Our reason for doing so was that the rationale behind the implied
warranty of workmanlike construction is to ensure a dwelling “will be fit
for habitation.” Id. at 113 (internal quotation marks omitted). In Speight
we said, the status of the buyer or owner of the building does not vitiate
the implied warranty of workmanlike construction because the
fulfillment of the warranty depends on the quality of building delivered,
not the buyer. Id.
We agreed with the rationale of the Idaho Supreme Court when
extending the warranty in Speight. Id. The Idaho case from which we
borrowed the rationale used the same rationale to extend the warranty to
“residential dwellings purchased for income-producing purposes which
have never been occupied by the buyers.” Tusch Enters. v. Coffin, 740
P.2d 1022, 1032 (Idaho 1987).
Here, a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether the
builder breached the implied warranty of workmanlike construction.
This breach affected the habitability of the building. This breach
occurred no matter who owned or resided in the dwelling units.
Therefore, I would find the warranty applies to the bank and let the jury
21
decide the fact issues as to whether the defendant was a builder, and if
so, did the builder breach the warranty?
Appel, J., joins this dissent.
22
#13–0060, Luana Sav. Bank v. Pro-Build Holdings
HECHT, Justice (dissenting).
The majority rejects Luana Savings Bank’s request for implied
warranty protection, concluding only a narrow category of those suffering
economic loss resulting from poor workmanship of residential structures
built by a particular category of builders are worthy of legal protection
under implied warranty law. But “[d]isparity in the law should be
founded upon just reason and not the result of adherence to stale
principles . . . .” Lane v. Trenholm Bldg. Co., 229 S.E.2d 728, 730 (S.C.
1976); see also Kennedy v. Columbia Lumber & Mfg. Co., 384 S.E.2d 730,
734–35 (S.C. 1989) (suggesting it is “repugnant” to deny implied
warranty relief due to “traditional and technical legal distinctions”).
Because I find the majority’s reasons for refusing to extend the protection
of implied warranty to Luana Savings Bank unconvincing, I respectfully
dissent.
A primary principle of the majority opinion is that purchasers of
single-family residences are worthy of protection because of their
“innocence” or lack of sophistication in buying residential real estate.
Although I concede banks are often populated by persons with greater
knowledge about commercial transactions than ordinary consumers, I
believe this distinction is wholly inadequate as a justification for denying
banks a remedy based on implied warranty for shoddily constructed
buildings intended for habitation.
The business of constructing modern residential structures is a
complex business that requires expert knowledge in a plethora of areas.
See Speight v. Walters Dev. Co., 744 N.W.2d 108, 111 (Iowa 2008) (noting
constructed homes “are increasingly complex”); Kirk v. Ridgway, 373
N.W.2d 491, 494 (Iowa 1985) (similar). Developers, builders, and
23
contractors of such structures are sophisticated in the sense that they
commonly have a “high degree of specialized knowledge and expertise
with regard to residential construction.” Smith v. Frandsen, 94 P.3d 919,
925 (Utah 2004). Their work is complex and regulated by many
governmental regulations and industry codes. Richards v. Powercraft
Homes, Inc., 678 P.2d 427, 430 (Ariz. 1984). Their sophistication derived
from knowledge and experience equips them to detect latent defects in
construction materials and workmanship. But arms-length mortgage
lenders lack such knowledge and experience and, like ordinary
consumers purchasing residential property, are not equipped with the
kind of sophistication that should count in deciding whether an implied
warranty remedy should be available to them. Their knowledge of
balance sheets, income statements, interest rates, and security
instruments does not equip them with the same type of sophistication
required for perceiving defects in construction materials or latent defects
in the quality of workmanship.
In Speight, we extended the implied warranty of workmanlike
construction owed by construction contractor-builders to subsequent
purchasers of residential real estate. Speight, 744 N.W.2d at 114. Our
rationale in that case for extending the warranty beyond the initial
purchasers to subsequent purchasers was based on a simple
proposition: The knowledge gap between the construction contractor-
builders and initial residential property purchasers is coterminous with
the knowledge and sophistication gap between contractor-builders and
subsequent purchasers. Id. Accordingly, we rejected the notion of
“buyer beware” for both initial and subsequent purchasers of residential
real estate. See id. In my view, the knowledge and relevant
sophistication gap noted in Speight is equally vast between contractors
24
and mortgage lenders financing the construction of buildings intended
for residential purposes. Just as we rejected for compelling reasons the
notion of “buyer beware” in Speight, we should quickly dispatch the
notion of “lender beware” under the circumstances presented here.
I also find unpersuasive the majority’s assertion that banks are
less worthy of protection offered by the law of implied warranty than
consumer-purchasers of residential property because banks possess
financial resources enabling them to inspect construction projects, detect
workmanship defects, and avoid losses of the type claimed by Luana
Savings Bank. Conceding for the sake of discussion that banks often
have greater financial resources at their disposal than consumer-
purchasers of residential real estate, I find this distinction unsatisfying
as a justification for denying Luana Savings Bank a remedy based on the
law of implied warranty. The purpose of the implied warranty of good
workmanship is to allocate, when possible, the economic losses resulting
from poor construction workmanship to parties that provide poor
workmanship causing damage to others. See Speight, 744 N.W.2d at 110
(noting the implied warranty operates by “holding the experienced
builder accountable for the quality of construction”); see also Tusch
Enters. v. Coffin, 740 P.2d 1022, 1032 (Idaho 1987) (“[I]t is the builder or
builder-developer whose conduct has created the latent defect, and it is
the builder or builder-developer who is in the better position to guard
against and remedy such defects.”). Those providing shoddy
workmanship in residential construction should bear the resulting losses
whether they are suffered by consumer-purchasers or commercial
interests like Luana Savings Bank. The law of implied warranty should
be available in either instance to allocate the cost of the shoddy
workmanship to the person or entity responsible for it.
25
Unlike my colleagues in the majority, I believe Tusch Enterprises
was correctly decided. In extending the implied warranty of
workmanship to provide a remedy for investors who bought apartment
buildings for investment purposes (rather than for their own residential
use), the court recognized that the compelling reasons for protecting
consumer-purchasers of residential property from losses resulting from
defective workmanship also justified protection of purchasers who were
motivated by a profit motive rather than a need for shelter. See Tusch,
740 P.2d at 1031.
My colleagues in the majority who reject Luana Savings Bank’s
claim prefer the reasoning advanced by the dissent in Tusch. The dissent
there viewed “investors in real estate” as standing “a far cry” from the
ordinary buyer of a new house. Id. at 1038–39 (Shepard, C.J.,
dissenting). But the difference between investors and ordinary buyers
perceived by the Tusch Enterprises dissent is specious for the reason
(knowledge and relevant sophistication gap) I have explained above. I
simply cannot accept that investors who suffer loss as a consequence of
shoddily constructed buildings designed for residential use should be
denied the same remedy as ordinary consumers who purchase the same
type of property for their own occupancy.
Extending the implied warranty of workmanlike construction to
protect commercial interests like Luana Savings Bank from shoddy
construction workmanship imposes no new burden on contractor-
builders. We addressed this issue head-on in Speight:
Walters contends that allowing the recovery the
Speights seek would lead to increased costs for builders,
increased claims, and increased home prices. However,
builder-vendors are currently required to build a home in a
good and workmanlike manner. The implied warranty of
workmanlike construction reasonably puts the risk of
26
shoddy construction on the builder-vendor. The builder-
vendor’s risk is not increased by allowing subsequent
purchasers to recover for the same latent defects for which
an original purchaser could recover.
Speight, 744 N.W.2d at 114. As the Mississippi Supreme Court has
observed:
The builder already owes a duty to construct the home in a
workmanlike manner . . . . If we extend potential liability of
the builder to subsequent purchasers, the builder still is
burdened only with the duty to construct the home in a
workmanlike manner, etc. In other words, no greater effort
will be imposed on the builder to protect himself.
Keyes v. Guy Bailey Homes, Inc., 439 So. 2d 670, 673 (Miss. 1983).
Extending the warranty to Luana Savings Bank here would not increase
the contractor-builder’s burden. Moreover, a blameless builder would
remain able to avoid liability for defects he did not cause by showing
“that the defects are not attributable to him, that they are the result of
age or ordinary wear and tear, or that previous owners have made
substantial changes.” Richards, 678 P.2d at 430; see also Moxley v.
Laramie Builders, Inc., 600 P.2d 733, 736 (Wyo. 1979) (“The builder
always has available the defense that the defects are not attributable to
him.”).
My colleagues in the majority suggest the extension of implied
warranty I propose will create unlimited liability for builders, stretching
indefinitely into the future, and create “a morass of controversy and
uncertainty through which no clear, reliable road may be charted.” Hays
v. Gilliam, 655 S.W.2d 158, 161 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1983). This fear is vastly
overblown. The road I propose to chart is clear and unobstructed.
Construction contractors who build shoddy buildings intended for
residential purposes will be accountable under the law of implied
warranty. The road ahead under the principle I suggest here is also
27
reliable. Iowa courts stand ready and able to apply the familiar doctrine
of implied warranty in matters such as this.
I also find no reason to believe that, as the majority intimates,
extending the implied warranty of workmanlike construction to protect
commercial interests like Luana Savings Bank will create unlimited
liability for builders stretching indefinitely into the future. The duration
of builders’ exposure for breaches of implied warranty is already limited
by the applicable statute of repose, as we noted in Speight:
Walters argues that allowing subsequent purchasers
to recover for a breach of the implied warranty of
workmanlike construction would subject builder-vendors to
unlimited liability; however, we are not persuaded. Iowa
Code section 614.1(11) provides a safety net—a statute of
repose for potential plaintiffs seeking to recover for breach of
an implied warranty on an improvement to real property. . . .
. . . In cases involving the construction of a building,
such as this home, that period begins upon completion of
the construction of the building. As a result, builder-
vendors are not liable on an implied-warranty claim after the
statute of repose has run, regardless of who owns the home.
Speight, 744 N.W.2d at 115 (citations omitted). Regardless of how many
subsequent purchasers take ownership of the house, and regardless of
who those subsequent purchasers are (with some narrow exceptions), the
extent of builders’ liability for unworkmanlike construction remains the
same.
For these reasons, I would reverse the summary judgment and
remand for trial.
Appel, J., joins this dissent.