The old saying “let the buyer beware” is of little relevance to California real estate transactions. If you are contemplating the sale of your home in California and have had construction defects or a prior lawsuit involving defects in your home, you should be aware of the basic disclosure requirements under California law.
Sellers of real property in California have … Read More
Indemnity is a concept that causes most lawyers and judges to cringe, and causes some clients to cry. Why? Because it is a concept that has almost nothing to do with whether you did something wrong. Instead it usually has everything to do with whether you signed a contract or other legal document where an indemnity provision was lurking. “Lurking” … Read More
Brace yourself, for you are about to be floored by how close a groundbreaking piece of legislation came to changing the landscape of construction defect litigation forever. It nearly snuck in right under our noses. If not for Governor Brown swooping in at the last minute to veto the bill, many of us may have been facing a serious downturn … Read More
A recent case questioned the legal basis for an intervening insurance company, on behalf of its suspended developer insured, to directly sue subcontractors for various causes of action including: indemnity, breach of warranty, declaratory relief, negligence, and most notably breach of contract for failure to obtain additional insured endorsements and duty to defend. In the case, the insurance company is … Read More
A recent insurance law decision by the California Court of Appeals, St. Paul Mercury Insurance v. Mountain West Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance, (2012) 210 Cal.App.4th 645, clarifies the role and obligations of insurance carriers for subcontractors involved in construction defect litigation. This decision potentially sounds a very ominous note for both subcontractors and their carriers as it makes clear … Read More
Consider two typical scenarios in construction defect litigation:
Scenario A: In a 35-home construction defect lawsuit arising from a large project in Sacramento, plaintiffs’ expert picks six windows at six separate homes for spray testing. Our insured is the stucco subcontractor. Our expert attends plaintiffs’ testing. Our expert reports that none of the windows selected for testing showed any evidence … Read More
With the economy improving, many homeowners are beginning to perform previously delayed construction projects. However, finances can still be a major issue, which is one reason why some elect to forego hiring a general contractor and instead act as an “owner-builder.”
When a property owner chooses to act as an owner-builder, he or she is assuming all of the responsibilities … Read More
The California Contractors State License Board (“CSLB”) requires contractors to include specific language in each Service and Repair Contract between a contractor and an owner or tenant for the performance of a home improvement. Both the contractor and the buyer need to be aware of the important rules regarding these agreements.
Every service contract to repair, remodel, alter, convert, modernize, … Read More
Contractors routinely face a number of liability threats as a cost of doing business. One that is occasionally overlooked is the threat of “alter ego” liability. Are you the alter ego of your company? And what does that mean exactly? Under the law of most states, it means that you could be held personally liable for the debts or liabilities … Read More
For anyone considering the purchase of a condominium in California, time can be tantalizing. The time between when a case is argued before the California Supreme Court and when a ruling is issued can also seem like forever for the litigants and other interested parties. And that is just where Pinnacle Museum Tower Association v. Pinnacle Market Development, S186149, … Read More
