Law360, New York (September 24, 2014, 11:22 AM EDT) -- On June 26, the First District Appellate Court of Illinois issued a decision that broke new ground in the area of indemnity rights defendants can assert against third-parties in construction defect cases. Until the decision in 15th Place Condominium Association v. South Campus Development Team LLC was published, developers were subject to construction defect cases for up to 14 years, but had only four years to recover for the losses they sustained in these suits from the contractors responsible for the construction defects. In earlier proceedings, the trial court had dismissed the defendant/developer's express indemnity claim against the contractor as untimely under the four-year construction statute of limitations. On appeal, the First District reversed, holding for the first time in Illinois that under Travelers, an Illinois Supreme Court precedent, the 10-year statute for written contracts governs not just surety bonds, but indemnity agreements within construction contracts as well....