Sendar Development Company hired several independent contractors to add five floors to an Upper West Side apartment building.
In October of 2002, soon after that project's completion, the windows leaked and hallway tiles began to crack. Some two years later, Kevin Sweeney was re-hired to inspect the areas in question.
Although Sweeney concluded that there was no structural cause for the conditions, when the building later had a flood, Sendar sued Sweeney (and others) for breach of contract, negligence, and wanted to be compensated for the damages incurred.
When the New York County Supreme Court denied Sweeney's request to be let out of the case, he appealed.
Since Sweeney showed that the 2004 inspection was unrelated to the original scope of work (completed in 2002), nor part of any ongoing services, the Appellate Division, First Deparmtnet, thought Sendar had filed its suit a bit too late -- as a three-year statute-of-limitations applied.
There's no developing that any further.
To view a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Sendar Dev. Co. v. CMA Design Studio