Durre v. Wilkinson Development, Inc.
Nebraska Supreme Court
830 N.W.2d 72 (2013)
Tri-City Sign Company (defendant) installed a large restaurant sign in May 1999; nearly a decade later, in April 2009, the sign collapsed onto a truck driven by Durre (plaintiff), injuring him and killing his wife. Durre sued the property owner, Wilkinson Development (defendant), in November 2009, and added Tri-City to the suit in March 2011 - more than ten years after Tri-City completed the sign's installation. Tri-City moved for summary judgment under Nebraska's 10-year statute of repose for improvements to real property, and the trial court granted the motion.
Whether a statute of repose limiting the period of recovery for injuries from improvements to real property applies even when the injury results from an inherently dangerous condition or latent defect caused by a contractor's negligence.