New bill to alter construction defect claims. (An Advertising Supplement).Senate Bill 800 is intended to increase the supply of affordable, multi-family housing in California by reducing the number of construction defects lawsuits. It does so by making significant changes in construction defect claims for all new construction of residential dwellings first sold on and after January 1, 2003. The legislation specifies the rights and limitations of individual owners of residential property and homeowners associations to bring construction defects actions against a builder, developer or original seller ("builder"), or subcontractor One who takes a portion of a contract from the principal contractor or from another subcontractor. When an individual or a company is involved in a large-scale project, a contractor is often hired to see that the work is done. , supplier or design professional, and the requirements for doing so. Importantly, the bill includes standards for home construction, thereby defining a construction defect. A new 10-year outside statute of limitations A type of federal or state law that restricts the time within which legal proceedings may be brought. Statutes of limitations, which date back to early Roman Law, are a fundamental part of European and U.S. law. applies, and the owner may establish a claim merely by demonstrating that the home does not meet the applicable standard, and need not prove either causation causation Relation that holds between two temporally simultaneous or successive events when the first event (the cause) brings about the other (the effect). According to David Hume, when we say of two types of object or event that “X causes Y” (e.g. or damages. SB 800 also specifies the measure of damages MEASURE OF DAMAGES, prac. Those principles or rules of law which control a jury in adjusting or proportioning the damages, in certain cases. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 636. recoverable, generally, the r easonable value of required repairs and any damages caused by the repair efforts. The statute also requires a minimum one-year express written limited warranty Limited warranty A warranty with certain conditions and limitations on the parts covered, type of damage covered, and/or time period for which the agreement is good. covering "fit and finish" items, and allows the builder to offer greater protection by an agreement conforming to certain standards and procedures. The homeowner is obligated ob·li·gate tr.v. ob·li·gat·ed, ob·li·gat·ing, ob·li·gates 1. To bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie. See Synonyms at force. 2. To cause to be grateful or indebted; oblige. to follow all reasonable maintenance obligations and schedules communicated in writing at the time of the sale and "commonly accepted" maintenance practices. Prior to filing an action, the owner must follow pre-litigation procedures. The builder's failure to comply releases the homeowner from those requirements. Those procedures include the written notice of a claim and the builder's right to repair. An electing builder must, among other things, inspect and test within a limited time and offer in writing to repair the violation, compensate the homeowner for all damages recoverable and mediate the dispute at the owner's election. The owner who does not elect to mediate or whose dispute is not resolved by the mediation must accept the offer to repair or request the builder to identify three independent local contractors to make the repairs, and then must authorize either the builder or one of the alternative contractors to make the repairs. If the builder fails to strictly comply with the pre-litigation procedures or the repairs are not completed on time or in the manner specified, the claimant CLAIMANT. In the courts of admiralty, when the suit is in rem, the cause is entitled in the Dame of the libellant against the thing libelled, as A B v. Ten cases of calico and it preserves that title through the whole progress of the suit. may file a lawsuit. Any applicable statute of limitations is extended fo r a specific period to allow for the pre-litigation procedures. The builder may not require a release or waiver in exchange for the repair work, and, even after repairs, the claimant may sue! The builder is not prohibited from making a cash offer requiring a "reasonable" release instead of an offer to repair (but apparently may not offer both), in which case the homeowner may either accept the cash offer or reject it and immediately proceed with a lawsuit. No other cause of action for a construction defect claim covered by the legislation or for damages beyond that provided by SB 800 is allowed. The legislation, however, does not apply to any action to enforce a contract or express contractual provision, or any action for fraud, personal injury or violation of a statute. Michael Berk Michael Berk is an American TV scriptwriter and television creator who along with Douglas Schwartz, is most famous for creating and writing the earlier scripts of Baywatch a show which exceeded a global audience of 1 billion people. is an attorney with Greenberg Glusker, a full service business and entertainment law firm in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . |
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