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Shabbat Parashat Devarim 5781P'ninat Mishpat: What Determines the Builder’s Responsibility – part II(based on partial ruling in case 73081 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)Case: The plaintiff (=pl), a contracting company, built the defendant’s (=def) house among others in a project, and each claims the other owes money, based on a comparison between the original terms and what was actually carried out. There were various determinants for what needed to be done: 1. The contract; 2. Blueprints; 3. The specifications; 4. The decisions of the building inspector (=ins). Beit din’s expert began work to determine the factual basis for beit din’s decisions, but beit din’s decision is needed to form a ruling. The main dispute relates to the fact that pl built less than what was laid out in the contract and specifications. According to def, when something is clear in these documents, ins is not authorized to forgo it and exempt pl from paying the difference. Additionally, the contract gives special status to the inspector’s instructions only when they are written down in the project’s ledger, which ins did not do. Pl argues that since ins’ decisions were discussed with and approved by the landowners’ representatives, these decisions are authorized to uproot whatever was written elsewhere. Pl points out that the contract was the same for different types of apartments in the project, so that ins’ input was absolutely necessary and must be binding. Ruling: [Last time we saw that while pl would be expected to follow ins’ instructions, def would receive a reduction for elements that were not carried out.] We must take a look at an unusual legal setup in this project. The yazam (developer) of the project is the yishuv and this set the tone for the work, but for technical reasons, each homeowner received the plot directly from the Land Authority and signed a work contract with the contractor. Therefore, the individual specifications an individual had were not as impactful as the plans and instructions of the yishuv’s professionals, such as ins. While one might expect then that def would have accepted the practical arrangements, we see that he did not. Top of page
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We daven for a complete and speedy refuah for: Nir Rephael ben Rachel Bracha Rivka Reena bat Gruna Natna Arye Yitzchak ben Geula Miriam Neta bat Malka Meira bat Esther Together with all cholei Yisrael Hemdat Yamim is dedicated to the memory of: for our homeland Eretz Hemdah's beloved friends and Members of Eretz Hemdah's Amutah Rav Shlomo Merzel z”l Rav Reuven Aberman z"l Tishrei 9 ,5776 Mr. Shmuel & Esther Shemesh z"l Sivan 17 / Av 20 Mr. Moshe Wasserzug z"l Tishrei 20 ,5781 R' Eliyahu Carmel z"l Rav Carmel's father Iyar 8 ,5776 Mrs. Sara Wengrowsky bat R’ Moshe Zev a”h. Tamuz 10 ,5774 Rav Asher & Susan Wasserteil z"l R' Meir ben Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld z"l & Mrs. Sara Brachfeld z"l Tevet 16 ,5780 R' Yaakov ben Abraham & Aisha and Chana bat Yaish & Simcha Sebbag, z"l Rav Yisrael Rozen z"l Rav Benzion Grossman z"l R' Yitzchak Eizik ben Yehuda Leib Usdan a"h, Av 29 R' Abraham Klein z"l Iyar 18 ,5779 & Mrs. Gita Klein z"l Av 4 R' Yitzchak Zev Tarshansky z"l Adar 28, 5781 Hemdat Yamim |