The purchase of a home, townhome, or condo is the largest investment most of us will ever make, and home buyers cannot see into the walls to see how a home was built and usually have limited knowledge of construction. Some builders take advantage of this, build homes riddled with defects, and sell them to unsuspecting buyers. That is why the law provides homeowners strong protections for defective construction practices. Elliotte Quinn focuses his practice on representing homeowners and strives to use the law to get homeowners the compensation and repairs they deserve.
Elliotte is from Charleston and graduated with honors from the College of Charleston. He received his law degree with high honors from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta. While at Emory, he was on the Emory Law Journal and served as its Executive Articles Editor. He received several honors and awards while at Emory including the Pro Bono Medal for his work providing legal services to those in need, the Order of the Coif, the Paul Bryan Prize, and the International Association of Defense Counsel’s legal writing prize.
Following law school, Elliotte served as a law clerk for a federal district court judge in the Northern District of Alabama, helping the judge with legal research and drafting decisions. Elliotte then served as a law clerk for Justice Kaye Hearn on the South Carolina Supreme Court drafting memos and opinions for cases before South Carolina’s highest court.
Prior to joining the Steinberg Law Firm in 2018, Elliotte was a litigator in the Charleston office of a highly regarded regional law firm where he primarily worked defending several of the largest national homebuilders in construction defect cases. He also handled a wide variety of other legal matters ranging from drafting construction contracts to litigating business disputes and personal injury claims. Elliotte concentrated on construction defect disputes often involving many parties and complex issues. He gained invaluable knowledge and experience of how construction defect claims are tried and how builders defend against them. But at heart he wasn’t satisfied representing builders, and he joined the Steinberg Law Firm to use his knowledge to help homeowners confronted with construction problems.
As an offshoot of his focus on construction defect issues, Elliotte also handles claims related to:
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● homeowners association mismanagement;
● rental property conditions and landlord-tenant disputes;
● mold claims resulting from improper construction work or failure to maintain a rental property;
● structural damage from construction work and vibrations on a neighboring property;
● products liability for defective building materials;
● building collapse and structural failure injuries; and
● construction site injuries.
Elliotte is a member of the South Carolina Bar’s Construction Law Section and the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law. He has authored numerous articles in the construction law field including co-authoring a chapter in The 2017 A201 Deskbook covering revisions to the industry’s most common form construction contracts.
Elliotte and his wife Lyndsey live in West Ashley with their two daughters. They are members of Circular Congregational Church. Elliotte serves on the board of directors for the Palmetto Project, Dorchester Paws (an animal shelter), and My Sister’s House (a domestic violence shelter) and provides legal assistance to domestic violence victims.
Professional & Community Involvement
My Sister’s House, Board of Directors, 2018 – present
Dorchester Paws, Board of Directors, 2018 – present
National Institute of Building Sciences, member, 2018 – present
Community Associations Institute, member, 2018 – present
Forum on Construction Law, American Bar Association, member and Young Lawyer Liaison to Contract Documents division, 2015 – present
Construction Law Section, South Carolina Bar Association, 2015 – present
Charleston County Procurement Appeals Board, Board member 2015 – present
Palmetto Project, Board member, 2015 – present
Charleston County Housing & Redevelopment Authority, Commissioner, 2016 – 2018
Publications
Developments in Energy Storage, 2x4x10 (ABA Forum on Construction Law, Division 10: Transportation, Energy, and Environment, 2018). http://apps.americanbar.org/dch/committee.cfm?com=CI110000
Elliotte Quinn, Michael Lapicola, & Michael Shull, Article 14 Termination or Suspension of the Contract, in The 2017 A201 Deskbook 221 (Peter W. Hahn, Joseph C. Kovars, & Amanda S. MacVey, eds., 2017). https://shop.americanbar.org/eBus/Store/ProductDetails.aspx?productId=283374276&term=A201
Are Certificates Listing a Construction Company as an Additional Insured Worth the Paper They’re Written On?, Construction Executive (June 2017), http://enewsletters.constructionexec.com/riskmanagement/2017/06/are-certificates-listing-a-construction-company-as-an-additional-insured-worth-the-paper-theyre-written-on/.
Contractual Provisions Waiving Punitive Damages Awards Are Enforceable in South Carolina, Focus . . . on the South Carolina Chapter (S.C. Association of Corporate Counsel 2017), http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/accscar/issues/2017-06-15.html#3.
So Sue Me!: The Intersection of Notice and Opportunity to Repair Statutes and a CGL Carrier’s Duty to Defend, Why Courts Likely Will Continue to Find the Duty to Defend Triggered, and Why Carriers May Not Need to Be Concerned About this Development, 52 Tort Trial & Ins. Prac. L.J. 119 (2016). https://www.americanbar.org/groups/tort_trial_insurance_practice/publications/tort_insurance_law_journal_home/tips_journal_fall_2016.html
A Real Class Act: The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005’s Amount in Controversy Requirement, Removal, and the Preponderance of the Evidence Standard, 78 Def. Couns. J. 85 (2011). https://www.iadclaw.org/publications-news/defensecounseljournal/
Licenses, Credentials, and Designations
South Carolina Bar
CAI Educated Business Partner, Community Associations Institute