Mehdizadeh dba Euro Design Construction v. Laurel Pacific, L.P., et al.
Published: Nov. 22, 2001 | Result Date: Aug. 27, 2001 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: EC023659 Arbitration – $638,931
Court
L.A. Superior Burbank
Attorneys
Experts
Facts
Plaintiff Kamran Mehdizadeh, doing business as Euro Design Construction, sued defendant Paul Chen and his
companies, P.C. Investments, Laurel Pacific, LP and PACCAL Investments, as well as two unrelated entities.
The plaintiff brought the suit to recover about $64,000 of his $1.1 million bill for construction work on two
apartment buildings to repair Northridge earthquake damage. One of the buildings, consisting of 80 units, was
on Moorpark Street in Sherman Oaks, while the other - a 65-unit building - was located on Laurel Canyon
in Studio City.
Defendants P.C. Investments Inc. and Laurel Pacific LP filed a cross-complaint against plaintiff Mehdizadeh
for construction defects.
Defendant Chen maintained that plaintiff Mehdizadeh failed to methodically or accurately measure the costs,
hired marginally skilled laborers off the street and cut corners. The defendantsÆ first amended cross-complaint
alleged that there were construction defects at both buildings including defective painting, defective plastering
and patching, defective electrical repair and defective kitchen countertops and tile.
Additionally, the defendants maintained that there were defective floor tiles, water leaks into interior rooms,
penalties for contract delays and lost rental income and profits.
Defendant Chen believed that at the Laurel Vista property on Laurel Canyon Blvd., plaintiff Mehdizadeh did
not apply enough paint to the exterior stucco, failed to pre-treat or sand down the metal that had to be painted
and failed to waterproof the pool area that was leaking water into the garage. Defendant Chen also alleged that
the plaintiff patched the elastometry decking in a way that left ugly scars.
With regard to the Moorpark building, defendant Chen alleged that plaintiff Mehdizadeh
promised to fix all the leaks into the garage but he never did the work because he claimed that
no one told him to lift up the exterior courtyard tiles so that he could see the source of the leaks.
Furthermore, Chen alleged that plaintiff Mehdizadeh hired insufficiently experienced tile men to
re-tile the kitchens in the 80 apartment units, but after they finished, many of the tiles popped off
and cracked.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiffs/cross-defendants offered $75,000 just before arbitration, but the defendants/cross-complainants demanded $900,000. A mediation conducted by Judge Robert Altman resulted in no acceptable offers to settle.
Result
Arbitrator Lester Olson awarded the plaintiff nothing on his complaint for breach of contract and awarded the defendants/cross-complainants $638,931 for the plaintiffsÆ construction defects.
Other Information
This case was filed on Dec. 5, 1997 and the binding arbitration award occurred on Aug. 27, 2001.
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