Jasper Construction, Inc. v. Foothill Junior College District

Defendant-appellant Foothill Junior College District of Santa Clara County (hereafter Foothill) appeals from a judgment in Santa Clara County Superior Court following a jury verdict awarding plaintiff-respondent Jasper Construction Company (hereafter Jasper) $742,133.96 upon its complaint for damages for breach of contract stemming from alleged defects in plans and specifications for the construction of a junior college auditorium.

Jasper cross-appeals from that portion of the judgment denying it prejudgment interest.

The focus of controversy in this case is the construction of the Calvin C. Flint Center for the Performing Arts, located on the De Anza Community College campus in Santa Clara. Jasper was the general contractor for this project and Foothill the owner for whom the project was constructed. In addition to suing Foothill, Jasper sued Kump, Masten & Hurd, a joint venture consisting of two separate architectural firms (hereafter referred to as the architects) who designed and supervised the project. The essence of Jasper’s claim was that as the result of inadequate and defective plans and specifications for the construction of the project and negligence in…