Defects Discovery Triggers Builder Warranty Prescription Period

A dispute arose concerning the liability of a builder following the discovery of defects in work that had been accepted by the owner; the owner sued the builder seeking damages based on a contractual warranty, but the builder invoked the ten-year prescriptive period applicable to actions in warranty against builders, arguing the claim was time-barred as the defects were discovered more than ten years after the acceptance. The court held that the prescriptive period for actions in warranty against builders only commences from the date the defects manifest themselves and render the work unusable or substantially flawed, not from the date of acceptance, and therefore, the trial court erred in dismissing the action solely based on the date of acceptance, as the claim was brought within the statutory ten-year period from the actual discovery of the non-apparent defects.