Confidential
Settlement – $284,800Judge
Court
Orange Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Gary D. Fields
(FieldsLaw)
Experts
Plaintiff
Craig A. Droz
(technical)
Defendant
William L. Hockenberry
(technical)
Facts
In October of 1988, the defendants contracted with the plaintiff, the homeowners' association of a condominum complex, to repair and replace decks in the 140 unit condominium project located in Mission Viejo, California. The plaintiff homeowners' assocation alleged that the defendants negligently replaced the decks resulting in damages including water intrusion and premature deterioration of te decks. The plaintiff homeowners association brought this action against the defendants based on negligence and breach of contract theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $199,000 which was reduced to $45,000 after judgment was entered upon a binding arbitration award. The defendant made a C.C.P. º998 offer of compromise for $25,000.
Damages
The plaintiff claimed $285,000 in damages resulting from water intrusion into the units and premature deterioration of the decks.
Other Information
The award was reached approximately two years and three months after the case was filed. An arbitration was held in June of 1995 before Merville Thompson resulting in an award of $45,000 against the defendant contractor and a judgment of $239,000 against the defendant company that designed the replacement methodology (was entered on October 15, 1995).
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