HOUSING AND CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS LAWYER

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Findlaw for the Public -

Some defects are obvious (such as water seepage) but many are less obvious and do not become apparent until years after a building was constructed.
Common examples of housing and construction defects are water leakage, faulty electrical or heating systems in a home, indoor mold growth, dry rot, and unstable landscaping.
HOUSING CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS A housing or construction defect is a building flaw or design mistake that reduces the value of the home, and/or causes a dangerous condition.
Find a Housing Construction Defects Attorney More information on Housing and Construction Defects (from FindLaw for the Public): Construction Defects Litigation.

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Normally, HUD also will: * Notify the alleged violator of your complaint and permit that person to submit an answer * Investigate your complaint and determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe the Fair Housing Act has been violated * Notify you if it cannot complete an investigation within 100 days of receiving your complaint Conciliation: HUD will try to reach an agreement with the person your complaint is against (the respondent).
HUD may authorize the Attorney General to go to court to seek temporary or preliminary relief, pending the outcome of your complaint, if: * Irreparable harm is likely to occur without HUD's intervention * There is substantial evidence that a violation of the Fair Housing Act occurred Example: A builder agrees to sell a house but, after learning the buyer is black, fails to keep the agreement.
If You Think Your Rights Have Been Violated HUD is ready to help with any problem of housing discrimination.
Fair Housing: It's Your Right

However, housing need not be made available to a person who is a direct threat to the health or safety of others or who currently uses illegal drugs.
* To provide injunctive or other equitable relief, for example, to make the housing available to you.
If you need a copy of the law or regulations, contact the HUD regional office nearest you or: Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
A transition period permits residents on or before September 13, 1988 to continue living in the housing, regardless of their age, without interfering with the exemption.
What Is Prohibited? In the Sale and Rental of Housing: No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap: * Refuse to rent or sell housing * Refuse to negotiate for housing * Make housing unavailable * Deny a dwelling * Set different terms, conditions or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling * Provide different housing services or facilities * Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale or rental * For profit, persuade owners to sell or rent (blockbusting) or * Deny anyone access to or membership in a facility or service (such as a multiple listing service) related to the sale or rental of housing.
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Fair Housing It's Your Right The Fair Housing Act The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of: * Race or color * National origin * Religion * Sex * Familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians; pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18) * Handicap What Housing Is Covered? The Fair Housing Act covers most housing.
In some circumstances, the Act exempts owneroccupied buildings with no more than four units, single-family housing sold or rented without the use of a broker and housing operated by organization and private clubs that limit occupancy to members.
What to Tell HUD: * Your name and address * The name and address of the person your complaint is against (the respondent) * The address or other identification of the housing involved * A short description of the alleged violation (the event that caused you to believe your rights were violated) * The date(s) of the alleged violation Where to Write: Send the Housing Discrimination Complaint Form or a letter to the HUD regional office nearest you (addresses on the Complaint Form) or to: Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
Housing Opportunities For Families Unless a building or community qualifies as housing for older persons, it may not discriminate based on familial status.
If you think your rights have been violated, you may fill out the Housing Discrimination Complaint Form in this brochure, write HUD a letter or telephone the HUD Hotline.
In Addition: It is illegal for anyone to: * Threaten, coerce, intimidate or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who exercise that right * Advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap.
* The Attorney General may file a suit in Federal District Court if there is reasonable cause to believe a pattern or practice of housing discrimination is occurring.
This prohibition against discriminatory advertising applies to single-family and owner-occupied housing that is otherwise exempt from the Fair Housing Act.
What If You Need Help Quickly? If you need immediate help to stop a serious problem that is being caused by a Fair Housing Act violation, HUD may be able to assist you as soon as you file a complaint.
Additional Protection If You Have A Disability If you or someone associated with you: * Have a physical or mental disability (including hearing, mobility and visual impairments, chronic alcoholism, chronic mental illness, AIDS, AIDS Related Complex and mental retardation) that substantially limits one or more major life activities * Have a record of such a disability or * Are regarded as having such a disability your landlord may not: * Refuse to let you make reasonable modifications to your dwelling or common use areas, at your expense, if necessary for the handicapped person to use the housing (Where reasonable, the landlord may permit changes only if you agree to restore the property to its original condition when you move.
Exemption: Housing for older persons is exempt from the prohibition against familial status discrimination if: * The HUD Secretary has determined that it is specifically designed for and occupied by elderly persons under a Federal, State or local government program or * It is occupied solely by persons who are 62 or older or * It houses at least one person who is 55 or older in at least 80 percent of the occupied units; has significant services and facilities for older persons; and adheres to a published policy statement that demonstrates an intent to house persons who are 55 or older.
Other Tools to Combat Housing Discrimination * If there is noncompliance with the order of an Administrative Law Judge, HUD may seek temporary relief, enforcement of the order or a restraining order in a United States Court of Appeals.
The requirement for significant services and facilities is waived if providing them is not practicable and the housing is necessary to provide important housing opportunities for older persons.
Complaint Referrals: If HUD has determined that your State or local agency has the same fair housing powers as HUD, HUD will refer your complaint to that agency for investigation and notify you of the referral.
) * Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services if necessary for the handicapped person to use the housing.

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Olivieri is one of thousands of small to medium-size contractors in California who are seeing their businesses go south after enduring more than a decade of flimsy lawsuits alleging construction defects, which have driven insurers from the state and put a virtual halt to condominium construction.
Repairing the Damage? Housing starts have failed to.
's profits have been California citizens' loss, as housing starts have failed to keep up with population and job growth, and most families cannot find affordable housing (see graphs above).
Trial Lawyers Inc. California
See Zito, supra note 37, at B1; MANHATTAN INSTITUTE, TRIAL LAWYERS, INC: A REPORT ON THE LAWSUIT INDUSTRY IN AMERICA 2003 14-15 (2003), available at http://www.
quickly determined that the market was lucrative, since hundreds of litigants could be brought into a single suit through their condo associations, vastly increasing the size of potential judgments—and of their lawyers' fees, which are based on a percentage of the verdicts.
To dig into as many deep pockets as possible, lawyers typically name as defendants as many as 60 subcontractors on a project— and all their insurers—including some who had nothing to do with that portion of the construction where defects are being alleged.
11, 2005) (requiring certain disclosures by attorneys in advertising for construction-defects litigation); A.
[48 ] As a result, portable-toilet vendors are being dragged into lawsuits over construction flaws, and roofers are being named in litigation over tennis-court defects, inflating costs and causing cases to drag on for years.
[44 ] Aggressive lawyers started blanketing condo communities with flyers listing a litany of potential defects, from leaky windows to loose carpet corners.
Tronquet, There's No Place Like Home…Until You Discover Defects: Do Prelitigation Statutes Relating to Construction Defect Cases Really Protect the Needs of Homeowners and Developers?, 44 SANTA CLARA L.
Ever resourceful, lawyers are now turning their attention to homes not covered by right-to-repair laws: single-family homes and seven- and eight-year-old condos that are starting to show wear.
See Homeless Masses, ECONOMIST, July 12, 2003 (explaining that an "epidemic of lawsuits over construction defects [has] made some housing uninsurable.
John Edwards, Trial Lawyers California

More troubling, lawyers have lately brewed up a potent mix of allegations that combine construction defects and toxic mold, paving the way for punitive damages and big pain-and-suffering awards.
8 million, for construction defects as well as other types of losses) (citing information from the Insurance Services Of.
See Homebuilders Fighting Defect Lawsuits Get Aggressive, supra note 45, at 3; Melanie Payne, Contractors, Lawyers Square Off, SACRAMENTO (Cal.
Most successfully, builders managed to get California lawmakers to pass a "right-to-repair" law in 2002 that requires most owners of condos and townhouses to give builders an opportunity to fix defects before taking them to court.
The result has been a food of litigation in California courts, aided by the state's ten-year statute of limitations on structural defects, one of the longest in the nation, and its plaintiff-friendly strict liability laws.
[40 ] Areas of the state that were job engines in the 1990s, such as Silicon Valley, have started to lose population in part because of the lack of affordable housing.
[45 ] Firms specializing in construction-defects litigation surfaced, such as the Miller Law Firm of Orange County, whose website www.

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The passage of SB 800 and these subsequent decisions afford an opportunity to evaluate the current status of liability for construction defects in California.
Plaintiffs on these projects will be unable to simply list all building code violations and the costs to remedy them to prove up their construction defect actions.
The lawsuit alleged that the plaintiffs bought homes that contained numerous defects, including structural damage, that they discovered only after having purchased the homes.
15 and the fact that the typical high stakes construction defect action on large condominium projects is brought 8 to 9 years after substantial completion of the project, SB 800 is not likely to have a significant impact on construction defect litigation for several years.
SB 800 applies to new construction intended to be sold as individual dwelling units, whether as single-family homes or attached units.
Aas placed considerable limits on the damages recoverable in tort for construction defects in California.
For these types of projects, the rule of non-liability for construction defects not causing property damage still applies.
4th 281 (2001) may further reduce the potential liability of developers, contractors and subcontractors for construction defects in California.
" The Aas decision, with its rule of non-liability for defects not causing property damage, brought a change.
The Current Status of Construction Defects Law in California - An Overview
For more information about Thelen Reid Priest's Construction and Government Contracts Department, click here.
Subsequent case law has placed further limitations on recoverable damages, clarifying that tort claims for defective construction must involve damage from the defects to "other work" and that damage which is the inevitable result of repairing the defective work probably does not qualify as "property damage.
The Court of Appeal reversed, essentially holding that the subsequent purchasers did have standing to assert the construction defect claims, stating:.
The plaintiffs contended that the concrete foundations on a residential construction project included an inherently defective product, the use of which was substantially certain to lead to foundation failure.
Carrau may be authority that no tort recovery is allowed for the cost of repairing collateral damage necessarily caused in repairing construction defects and suggests that recovery of the cost of getting to the defects also is barred, at least in the absence of significant resulting damage actually caused by the construction defect.
The Aas court reasoned: "Construction defects that have not ripened into property damage, or at least into involuntary out-of-pocket losses, do not comfortably fit the definition of 'appreciable harm' - an essential element of a negligence claim.
The trial court granted a motion to exclude evidence of the defects on the ground that the defects gave rise to causes of action to the original owners and that, absent assignment of rights by the original owners, the plaintiffs lacked "standing" to bring the action.
New Civil Code §896 provides that a "builder" and other participants in the construction process shall be liable for violation of specified standards for new residential construction.
For example, in several cases pending at the time of the Aas decision, the plaintiffs stopped pursuing recovery for pure "negligence per se" building code violations -- defects that were not also causing property damage.
The court announced a significant limitation on the scope of potential recovery by plaintiffs in construction defect actions, holding that there could be no tort recovery (negligence/strict liability) for construction defects that have not actually caused property damage, even when the defects violated provisions of the building codes intended to prevent harm to life, health and property.
Given the 10-year statute of repose for bringing construction defect actions in Code of Civil Procedure §337.
Rather, for the next six or seven years, clarification of issues left unresolved by Aas will form the cornerstone of developments in California law on construction defects.
The Current Status of Construction Defects Law in California – An Overview
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Before Aas, plaintiffs typically would include any violations of building codes in their list of claimed construction defects.
While it is difficult to speculate why the court ordered the opinion decertified, the Mesa Vista court went to great lengths to distinguish the language in Aas and Jiminez that appears to require property damage to other work to support tort claims for defective construction.

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Condominium / Construction Defect / Personal Injury / Breach of Contract Attorney Serving Northern California: San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, CA - SF Bay Area Law Office Specializes In: General Counsel to: Planned Unit Development.
The construction defect attorney, planned unit development, home owner associations (HOA) law office, condominium and condo association lawyer, construction defect attorney, contract litigation attorney, personal injury attorney, automobile accident, personal injury, wrongful death, negligence, product liability or other legal information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer or attorney client relationship.
Condominium Association - Construction Defect and Personal Injury Attorney - San Francisco, California Bay Area including Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda.
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Bay Area California law office specializing in representing condominium associations, construction defect, contract, personal injury and breach of contract cases serving San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda

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Unfortunately, some consumers purchase properties where serious defects are present.
If you believe you may have a claim, you should promptly preserve your rights or you may forever forfeit any legal right to bring as legal claim for any alleged construction defect.
Among the construction and building products recently referenced in construction defect investigations, product lawsuits or product recalls are the following: Defective Pressed Wood Siding.
Sometimes, building, construction components or constriction products fall below industry standards to such a degree they are considered for the construction of the particular building.
National organizations including the National Multi Housing Counsel publish consumer information concerning construction defects, product lawsuits and recalls concerning several housing products.
Buildings are construction products are sometimes in violation of applicable building codes.
In California, Developers of very large housing tracts may be strictly liable for construction defects.
If not, you may have the ability to proceed with a construction defect claim against the developer, seller, or the contractors responsible for the construction of your building.
Consumers are sometimes faced with significant costs of repair for construction defects.
Homepage Construction Defects Defective Products, Recalls Settlements About Us ONLINE CLAIM FORM Helpful Links.
Over the last few decades, a body of law has grown up around claims concerning construction lawsuits and is often referred to as defect” litigation.
Building or construction products are sometimes built in violation of plans or permits.
News and information about construction defects, recalled or defective products, and construction defect settlements and legal claims.
Our attorneys provide legal advice on construction defects, construction product and construction material recalls and alerts, and practice law in federal courts across the United States and in jurisdictions or states where licensed to practice.
Some of the most common construction defects involved failing or leaking roofs, leaking or inoperable windows, cracking or unleveled concrete, failing or cracking walls, defective or improperly installed plumbing or electrical equipment.
Construction Lawsuits - Construction defects and product recalls, settlements, and lawsuits.
Sometimes building simply do no last as long as promised or expected, or start to suffer cracks, leaks, and other significant problems related to the building or construction of the subject property.