Confidential
Settlement – $12,807,300Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Santa Monica
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Joel B. Castro
(Castro & Associates)
Defendant
John B. Foss
(Dunham Law)
Gary S. Kranker
(Jones & Mayer)
Michael S. Mars
(Law Office of Craig A. Holt)
Alisa A. Martin
(AMartin Law PC)
Deborah Dorny
(Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney)
Daniel S. Alderman
(Alderman & Hilgers LLP)
Glenn T. Barger
(Chapman, Glucksman, Dean, Roeb & Barger APC)
Robert R. Clayton
(Taylor & Ring)
Brad D. Citron
(Wayne & Associates)
Douglas N. Harty
(Law Firm of Douglas N. Harty)
John J. Perlstein
(Law Office of John J. Perlstein)
Craig A. Holtz
(Law Office of Craig A. Holtz)
Darin L. Wessel
(Office of the Attorney General)
Bruce C. Gridley
(Jones Mayer)
Robert H. Stellwagen Jr.
(Collins Collins LLP)
Frank T. Sabaitis
(Sabaitis, Lunsford & Moore)
Edgar R. Nield
(Maltzman & Partners PA)
Karl R. Loureiro
(Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith LLP)
Brian S. Letofsky
(Watkins & Letofsky LLP)
F. Phillip Hosp
(Locke Lord LLP)
Experts
Plaintiff
John J. Nicholas
(technical)
Johnny Zamrzla
(technical)
Douglas E. Moran
(technical)
Andrew Pucetti
(technical)
James C. Dorr
(technical)
Raymond Itaya
(technical)
Ernest R. Orchard
(technical)
David Bethany
(technical)
Awtar Singh
(technical)
Roger M. Katz M.D.
(medical)
Edward K. Takahashi
(technical)
Facts
The plaintiffs are homeowners and occupants of 30 high-end custom homes at the crest of Bel Air Hills, just south of the Skirball Center. The project was developed by Bel Air Crest Ltd./ Prestige Homes, Inc. and Goldrich & Kest. Over the years, the plaintiffs suffered cracking in slabs, block walls and stucco. Some differential soils subsidence was detected through GPS Satellite and level surveys. The plaintiffs suffered water intrusion and damage to their homes from roofs, windows, doors, balconies and below grade waterproofing. Some homes developed mold and fungus resulting in 28 personal injury claims for adults and minors. Settlement discussions initially attempted global settlements with all parties but the 52 subcontractors and design professionals balked when the plaintiffs presented an $18 million global demand. The plaintiffs and the developer and general contractor then entered into discussions which resulted in a settlement that exhausted all primary insurance coverage and included a limited assignment against the developer's excess insurance carriers. Additionally, the plaintiffs also received an assignment of all the developer's and general contractor's indemnity rights against the non-settling subcontractors and design professionals, as well as an assignment of their construction experts. The plaintiffs' settlement with the developer and general contractor was challenged by most defendants at the good faith hearing. The plaintiffs valued the assigned claims by performing a "pro rata" allocation under Regan Roofing and calculated offsets to be applied to the non-settling parties after deducting Stearman Costs. The plaintiffs also allocated and deducted 10 percent of the net settlement proceeds for payment of personal injury claims. The plaintiffs retained retired Judge Richard Harris to value and adjudicate their personal injury claims. The plaintiffs devised an allocation procedure that would not trigger P.I. payment until the case was settled and settlement sums were collected so that "minor compromises" could be adjudicated and presented to the court for approval. The plaintiffs allocated $2 million in Stearman Costs and destructive testing costs among the settling defendants based on liability allocations from the initial good faith settlements. The defendant subcontractors filed 3 writs of mandate challenging the plaintifffs' allocations, assignments, valuations and offsets. All writs were denied. All settlements with the defendant subcontractors and design professionals resulted in dismissals of both construction defect and personal injury claims. All owners and guardians ad litem were required to approve each and every settlement. CNA was the insurance carrier for approximately 10 subcontractors. The plaintiffs invited CNA to engage in settlement negotiations for all their insureds. These separate negotiations resulted in global settlements for the CNA insureds. All owners were deposed at least once. Owners who had personal injury claims were required to have a construction defect deposition followed by a personal injury deposition. All personal injury owners were required to undergo independent medical examiner tests. All owners' homes were tested at least once. Over 30,000 photographs were taken and produced along with 50 hours of video tape. Over 300,000 documents were produced into the depository by the parties. The defendant subcontractors filed over two dozen summary judgment motions, numerous motions for judgments on the pleadings and over 60 discovery motions. The case was ultimately settled for $12,807,294 through multiple mediation sessions with Ross Hart.
Other Information
There were separate settlements with more than 50 defendants and which totaled $12,807,294. The amounts of the individual settlements are confidential.
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