The following is being printed by the request of two members of ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter: Roof Technologies, Inc. and Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr & Smith:
In March, 2008, Roof Technologies, Inc. successfully defended itself against a claim of deficient construction. The lawsuit was filed by a property insurance company that had paid roughly $1.8 million to replace its insured’s roof, which failed during Hurricane Katrina. After paying to have its insured’s roof replaced, the insurance company filed suit against Roof Technologies, Inc. contending that the roof failure was caused, not by Katrina’s vicious winds, but by deficient construction. The plaintiff sought an award of $1.8 million plus attorney fees and costs. Following a four-day trial, a three-member arbitration Panel ruled in favor of Roof Technologies. The Panel awarded the plaintiff $0, and further ordered the plaintiff to reimburse Roof Technologies $15,000 in litigation costs.
While the plaintiff contended that the roof failure was caused by installation deficiencies that amounted to gross negligence, Roof Technologies was able to present persuasive testimony from a meteorologist and an engineer that (a) the wind gust at the site exceeded the roof system’s design capacity and (b) the damage was the result of significant downward force on the structure which caused the underlying steel support system to fail. Roof Technologies was also able to bolster its case with key admissions from several witnesses called by plaintiff in its case-in-chief, including the plaintiff’s engineers, the roof manufacturer's inspector who inspected the work throughout construction , and a roof inspector who examined the structure after the Hurricane.
Roof Technologies was represented at trial by Jerry Melchiode and Joe Hassinger, Directors in the law firm of Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr & Smith in New Orleans, along with Paul McMahon, principal of the Law Office of Paul J. McManhon in Lafayette. Called as experts by the defense were meteorologist Steve Wistar and engineer Jerry Housebolder, Ph. D.