Facts

In 2001, the developer built homes in Murrieta. Homeowners who purchased directly from the developers or were subsequent purchasers began to experience various construction defects in and around their homes. The homeowners made claims on the grounds of negligence and that some or all of the work of the developer were defective.

There were 67 homes in this action. Of those 67, one home in particular (damaged home) had more serious problems than the rest.

Before construction of the damaged home, the underlying lot was graded in two phases. Plaintiffs alleged that, although fill was added at each phase, the soils were poorly compacted and the damaged home began to move and crack. Adding to the problems, there was a six-inch subdrain pipe placed beneath the northwest corner of the damaged home.

The fact that the damaged home experienced more significant defects than the other homes, led the plaintiff's attorneys to move to bifurcate for trial. The motion to bifurcate was made on the grounds that litigating damaged home claims with the rest of the plaintiffs would create unnecessary time delay.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs contended that the defendants were negligent and that some or all of their work on the home was defective.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants interpreted test results to show that the home was no longer moving, thus making the cost of repair only about $75,000 to $90,000.

Settlement Discussions

The developer defendants and five additional subcontractors offered to settle for $308,000 and with advice from the plaintiff's experts the homeowners accepted the offer.

Damages

Severe drywall and stucco cracking, and pipe leaking.

Result

The case settled for $308,000.

Other Information

The investigation concluded that cost of repair for plaintiff's home would exceed the other plaintiff's costs. They concluded it would cost $432,000 for repairs on the damaged home alone, not including investigative costs.