Badly done building work

[RainySunshinyDay]

A friend had some building work done. Long story short, court agreed builder was at fault but said they couldn't pay damages as friend hasn't yet fixed the issue so hasn't incurred a loss.

Friend can't afford to repair it (thousands) and it will cost more to rectify than she originally paid as an expert witness says more stuff needs doing (wasn't done originally which is why the job went wrong). What can she do now?

Was the builder insured?

I assume so

Not a helpful answer. She needs to find out, because the easiest way forward is that his insurers pay to have the remedial work carried out, which is what usually happens. I think she is not being entirely truthful about the judgment at court either. It seems a very odd outcome.

I've seen the court transcript. She's not lying. She's appealing the decision.

Sincere apologies. Perhaps she didn't present enough evidence? As i said, have a look at the builder's insurance.

Without seeing the transcript it is difficult to comment but it does indeed seem a very odd outcome. If she had proof of the cost of fixing the problem she should have been awarded damages. She shouldn't have to fix the problem first.

Ok thank you. The judge said the builders were at fault so there was presumably enough evidence. It seems to be the remedy that's an issue for some reason.

Would she need to rely on the builder approaching their insurance company? They just denied they'd done anything wrong throughout so won't do that willingly. They think they've got away with it now.

Her action is against the builder. They may be able to claim against their insurance but that doesn't affect their liability.

I am struggling to understand how the judge decided the builders were at fault and then didn't award damages. That seems perverse. Without seeing the transcript it is impossible to say for sure. It may be the judge had a good reason for not awarding damages. But, if the decision was as perverse as it sounds, her appeal is the best way forward.

if they were insured, would the insurance company have been fighting this on their behalf? Perhaps they aren't insured

If they had referred the matter to their insurers I would normally expect them to get involved. It is possible they aren't insured or haven't notified their insurers. However, that should not have affected the judge's decision.