CONTRACTS — CONSTRUCTION
11-2-0829 Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholders v. Vitetta Group, P.C., App. Div. (Lihotz, J.A.D.) (20 pp.) In this matter, we review the interplay between the statute of repose requiring suit to be filed within 10 years for damages resulting from any deficiency in the supervision or construction of an improvement to real property, N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1.1, and the 10-year statute of limitations governing civil actions commenced by the state or its political subdivisions, N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1.2. Plaintiff argued its suit against the supervisor of a county building project fell under the exceptions set forth in the statute of repose, as the complaint alleged that damages resulted from willful misconduct, gross negligence or fraudulent concealment in connection with the property improvement, N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1.1(b)(2). Plaintiff reasoned that since the statute of repose was implicated, the statute of limitations did not apply. We rejected this argument, holding that if an action is barred by the statute of limitations, it cannot be saved by the statute of repose. [Decided July 30, 2013.]
