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The Oregon Supreme Court last week agreed with two Oregon Court of Appeals‘ decisions to side with owners regarding the statute of limitations for filing suit over construction defects.

The court remanded both cases – PIH Beaverton LLC v. Super One Inc. and Sunset Presbyterian Church v. Brockamp & Jaeger Inc. – to Multnomah County Circuit Court for trial.

In Oregon, owners have up to 10 years after “substantial completion” of a building to file suit. But when substantial completion starts has been a gray area for contractors and project owners, said Dan Goldstein, a construction attorney with Portland-based Ball Janik LLP.

In both cases, an American Institute of Architects had not been completed. The certificate, an industry standard, generally is initiated by the contractor, prepared by the architect and signed by both parties as well as the owner, Goldstein said.

“It’s not news that they need to get the certificate,” he said. “It’s news that there are consequences if you don’t take those steps.”

In the PIH Beaverton LLC case, the owner filed a lawsuit against Super One, a Beaverton-based contractor, and various subcontractors more than 10 years after gaining temporary occupancy of a hotel, but fewer than 10 years after final completion of the project, according to the suit. While the owner at the time posted a notice of completion lien and operated the hotel before its final completion, the Supreme Court ruled that did not start the 10-year clock.

The Sunset Presbyterian Church case dates back to 2009, when the church filed a lawsuit claiming faulty work had been performed on a building addition by Oregon City-based Brockamp and Jaeger and its six subcontractors more than 10 years earlier. Brockamp and Jaeger argued that substantial completion occurred when the church occupied the building, but the contractor had not initiated the AIA certificate process.

The lesson for contractors, Goldstein said, is to make sure to get everything related to the contract in writing.

“Obviously, the protection for the contractor is to set the beginning date for these timelines,” he said. “For the owner, it puts them on notice that the timelines are running. It’s not fair to hold the owner to an earlier time when they’re not on notice that the timeline is running.”