Morris

real property in Los Altos Hills in the mid-1970’s. Jack B. Horton is a general contractor who owns a drywall business. The Hortons decided to build an estate on this property for themselves and, with Jack Horton acting as the general contractor, they contracted with plaintiff Maclyn Morris, Jr., to provide the “millwork” or woodwork for the various buildings the Hortons were erecting on the property. Morris subcontracted to cross-defendant Wallace & Hinz the construction of an ornate winding staircase for the main residence of the Horton estate. Morris and his crew encountered substantial difficulties during installation of the millwork because of framing deficiencies which were not revealed by the plans upon which the parties’ contract was based. When Morris brought these deficiencies to the attention of the Hortons, they told him to do whatever was necessary to properly install the millwork, and they agreed to pay for the extra costs incurred by Morris to do so. When work on the millwork contract was approximately 98 percent complete, the Hortons told Morris to leave the property and refused to allow him to complete the remaining work. The Hortons subsequently refused…