(a) No action to recover damages for any injury to property, real or personal, or for bodily injury or wrongful death, arising out of any deficiency or neglect in the planning, design, construction, supervision and administering of construction, and observation of construction relating to an improvement to real property shall be commenced more than two years after the cause of action has accrued, but in any event not more than ten years after the date of completion of the improvement.
Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 657-8
Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
(b) This section shall not apply to actions for damages against owners or other persons having an interest in the real property or improvement based on their negligent conduct in the repair or maintenance of the improvement or to actions for damages against surveyors for their own errors in boundary surveys. The term “improvement” as used in this section shall have the same meaning as in § 507-41 and the phrase “date of completion” as used in this section shall mean the time when there has been substantial completion of the improvement or the improvement has been abandoned. The filing of an affidavit of publication and notice of completion with the circuit court where the property is situated in compliance with section 507-43(f) shall be prima facie evidence of the date of completion. This section shall not be construed to prevent, limit, or extend any shorter period of limitation applicable to sureties provided for in any contract or bond or any other statute, nor to extend or add to the liability of any surety beyond that for which the surety agreed to be liable by contract or bond.(c) Nothing in this section shall exclude or limit the liability provisions as set forth in the products liability laws.
