Confidential
Settlement – $240,000Court
Santa Clara Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Anthony Marsh
(Law Office of Anthony Marsh)
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Marty Raye
(technical)
Jeffrey Beam
(technical)
Steven O'Connor
(technical)
Michael Pedro
(technical)
Terry Szewezyk
(technical)
R. Rexford Upp
(technical)
Defendant
Steven R. Fisk
(technical)
James G. Kleven
(technical)
Bob Steuer
(technical)
Donald H. Hillebrandt
(technical)
Tom Makdissy
(technical)
Richard Walter
(technical)
Rusty Nelson
(technical)
Facts
In 1988, defendant general contractor constructed an 18-house subdivision in Saratoga. Although the subdivision appeared to be on level ground, these four houses were placed on approximately 3 to 7 feet of fill. Starting in 1994, four homeowners who lived next door to each other discovered that during the winter, their crawl space would become flooded with water at depths up to seven inches. Two of the houses, which were not next to each other, remained wet during the summer. The defendant agreed there was a problem but refused to pay for the cost of repair. The plaintiffs brought this action against the defendant based on negligence, nuisance and breach of contract theories of recovery. The actions were consolidated. The defendant filed cross-complaints against various subcontractors.
Settlement Discussions
Settlement discussions were not disclosed.
Damages
The plaintiffs claimed $362,729 for repair costs and $140,000 for attorney fees, costs and general damages of $40,000. The defendants alleged the costs of repair was $100,000.
Other Information
Numerous mediations were held before Joseph Huber of Hyber and Samuelson, resulting in settlement. By settling when they did, plaintiffs were able to install an extensive subdrain system around each of their houses and have the work completed before this winter rains. The repair took seven weeks to complete.
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