Your builder putting up those multi-million dollar homes may be the party to seek renumeration from.
They built the structure and they and the architectural/engineering firms should be responsible for knowing the product specifications and local codes for your materials to have been installed in such a way, so as to not void your warranty.
Here are 2 paragraphs from the Atlas website regarding warranty installation instruction so as to not null and void the warranty.
From this link:
http://www.atlasroofing.com/pages/Installation-res-19.asp
"2.) ROOF DECK VENTILATION
Adequate ventilation under the roof deck must be provided to prevent harmful condensation in winter and heat build-up in summer. These conditions can cause: A.) Accelerated roof weathering; B.) Deck rot and attic fungus; C.) Shingle distortion/cracking due to deck movement; D.) Blisters. Atlas will not be responsible for damage to shingles as a result of inadequate ventilation.
Ventilation provisions must meet or exceed current FHA Minimum Property Standards and conform to all building codes and regulations.
To best ensure adequate ventilation and circulation of air, a combination of vents at ridge and eaves should be used. All roof structures, especially mansard and cathedral type ceilings, must have complete through ventilation from bottom to top.
FHA Minimum Property Standards require 1 square foot of net free attic vent area for every 150 feet of attic floor area; or one square foot per every 300 square feet, if vapor barrier is installed on the warm side of the ceiling, or at least one half the ventilation area is provided near the ridge.
3.) ROOF DECK
These instructions are for the application of shingles to nominal 1/2" thick American Plywood Association (APA) rated, code approved plywood, non-veneer decks or minimum 1" thick (nominal) wood decks. The plywood or non-veneer decks must comply with the specifications of the APA. The wood decking must be well seasoned, not over 6" (nominal) width, and fastened securely to each rafter. Do not use green, unseasoned sheathing or undried, recently stripped form lumber. Deck surface should be clean, bare and flat. PINNACLE® shingles must not be applied to any surface, other than roof deck types described.
Atlas honors its limited shingle warranty when using Atlas shingles with the Atlas CrossVent Nailable insulation. Atlas will not be responsible for the performance of its shingles if applied directly to decks composed of perlite board, plastic foam, fiberboard, gypsum plank, lightweight concrete, cementitious wood fiber, or similar materials or to any decks directly installed over insulation with the exception of CrossVent™ Nailable insulation.
Now, I do not know how high the tolerences and specifications are for aerospace engineered products, but I imagine that the specifications must be of the highest quality.
An asphalt manufactured product begins its degradation and decaying process the instant it comes out of the bundle wrapper and gets installed, exposing the product to the UV rays of the sun.
The most commonly accepted theory and best practices include following the specifications to provide the best environment for the product to withstand the test of time.
If your home was not ventilated, at least to the "Minimum" specifactions, how could you presume that the material would function properly.
I know you had no part in the building and specifying of either the materials or the contractor and his crew who installed them, but you need more proof that the ventilation meets the standards, than just a statement without any mathematically calculated proof to back up your hypothesis, with your statement:
"to the arbitrary and ambiguous statements made by roofers of "adequate" my home was "adequately" ventilated."
I am NOT trying to diminish the merits of your claimed material malfunction, but you do need to follow the instructions and determine, by the attic floor square footage dimensions, if your builder/roofer/architect/engineer provided you with a legitimate case to argue.
To not have the back up calculations would be akin to saying your car engine froze up after having the oil changed, but refusing to allow them to see if there were any oil in the crank case to verify the complaint.
What is the footprint area dimensions of your entire attic floor space?
How many and of what size soffit intake vents do you have installed for the intake ventilation?
How many in quantity, or how many lineal feet, of roof top exhaust ventilation products do you have installed?
Can you post a photo of all 4 sides elevation views from the ground for us to see?
After the dimensions and the required NFVA are determined, then a much more resonable answer can be provided.
Ed