Montana has no standalone construction defect claim, its high court confirms
Montana has no standalone construction defect claim, its high court confirms
2026-09-15 · Montana · Courts
What happened. A Montana association pursuing a building defect cannot plead “construction defect” as a claim. The statute that appears to create one does not.
The decision
Grosvold v. Neely, 2025 MT 99, 421 Mont. 537, 568 P.3d 525, docket DA 24-0238, decided May 13, 2025. Published and citable. It affirmed a judgment on special verdict from Anaconda-Deer Lodge County.1
At issue were Mont. Code Ann. §§ 70-19-426 through 70-19-428, enacted by Senate Bill 389 in 2003 — the same act that amended § 27-2-208, Montana's construction statute of repose.
The holding
Even though “a finder of fact could have determined the property included a residence and at least some of Grosvold's work was performed on the residence,” the Court affirmed the refusal to instruct the jury on a construction defect claim, because
“the residential construction defect statute did not create an independent cause of action in addition to Neely's breach of contract and negligence claims.”
Reading the enacting title and preamble — an alternative dispute resolution procedure “PROVIDING THE CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONAL WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO RESOLVE THE CLAIM WITHOUT LITIGATION” and “LIMITING DAMAGES” — the Court concluded the Legislature
“created a pre-litigation alternative dispute resolution procedure with incentives to avoid litigation, not a new cause of action.”
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Related Montana HOA Topics
- Grosvold v. Neely, 2025 MT 99, 421 Mont. 537, 568 P.3d 525 (DA 24-0238, May 13, 2025), slip opinion (Montana Judicial Branch document service) ↩
- Atkinson v. City of Livingston, 2026 MT 21 (DA 25-0285, Feb. 10, 2026), slip opinion — repose as substantive immunity, and the gravamen test ↩
- Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-208 — the six-year construction statute of repose as amended by Ch. 174, L. 2025 (official) ↩
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