Liability of Contractor or Subcontractor for Latent Defects in Products

Although Alabama cases do not appear to directly address this issue, authority in other states hold that a contractor is not liable for latent defects in products that he uses “and he is not answerable to the owner for the latent defect or liable for the amount of damage to the building caused by such defect.” 13 Am. Jur. 2d, Building and Construction Contracts §27 (1997); Wood-Hopkins Contracting Co. v. Masonry Contractors, Inc., 235 So. 2d 548 (Fla. Ct. App. 1970) (affirming verdict for builder); 17A C.J.S., Contracts § 515, p.857 (“a builder is not liable for the result of latent defects in material purchased from a reputable dealer”); 61 A.L.R. 3d 792 § 3, Liability of Builder or Subcontractor for Insufficiency of Building Resulting From Latent Defects in Materials Used (1975) (“a builder makes no implied warranty against latent defects in materials which he uses in construction and . . . the builder is not responsible for the insufficiency of a building resulting from such defect where he had no knowledge of the defect, acted in good faith, and exercised reasonable care and skill.”).