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Homeowners face $2.2 Million in Trial Costs
Frivolous Lawsuits and Class Action Lawsuits
Posted , April 27, 2007
From Residential Design & Build, May, 2006
SANTA ANA, Calif. -- In a judgment entered late in March, owners of more than 12 homes in Orange County lost their construction defects lawsuit and face the prospect of paying $2.2 million in trial costs. Plaintiffs claimed concrete foundations were damaged by soil sulfates. The Orange County Superior Court judge reiterated his preliminary decision in favour of the defenant in a case based on claims that concrete foundations of more than a dozen homes in Southern California were damaged by sulfates in the soil.
In his judgment entered March 28, Judge David C. Velasquez of the Orange County Supreme Court, said the plaintiffs did not prevail in their allegations of damages against the concrete supplier. The plaintiffs' allegations did not stand up to scientific scrutiny. He rules that the plaintiffs, who asked for more that $5 million in damages, failed to demonstrate that the defendant concrete suppliers had supplied defective concrete or that the concrete had subsequently been damaged by external sulfate attack. Judge Velasquez issued his preliminary decision in December and finalized it on March 8, 2006.
Defendant National Ready Mix Services Co. made formal offers to settle the case in April 2004 and again in June 2004, but the offers were rejected by the plaintiffs. National now seeks to recover from the plaintiffs exspenses incurred during the lengthy trial.
The defendan'ts costs itemized in a memorandum submitted to the court, exceeded $2.2 million, including some $2 million for expert witness fees and costs.
The ruling affects nearly twenty Mission View homeowners, who will be liable for more than $115,000 per home if the judge approves all the defendant's costs. Based upon the judgment, any homeowner may be held liable for the entire $2.2 million dollars. The judge is expected to decide the fnal costs in the coming months.
While the ruling sets no judicial precedent, it warns homeowners of the financial risks invcolved in filing such a lawsuit.
"This is the risk a homeowner takes when initiating litigation based on junk science," said William Ingalsbe, Esq, attorney for National Ready Mix Services Co. "What's more, the law may force these homeowners to disclose the lawsuit and the damage asserted by their attorneys, should they sell their homes."
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