L. C. Rudd & Son, Inc. v. Superior Court
Opinion
Opinion
Anderson, J.
L. C. Rudd & Son, Inc. (petitioner), a nonsettling defendant in a construction defects suit, seeks a writ of mandate to set aside a determination that a settlement in the action was in good faith. Petitioner contends the settlement as a whole was disproportionately low and, in this regard, that petitioner was improperly denied financial discovery. Petitioner also contends that the settlement order makes an improperly low allocation of the settlement proceeds to those defects for which petitioner could be potentially liable. We conclude that petitioner is correct as to the latter contention and that the petition should be granted.
Facts and Procedural History
The real estate project involved in this action is a 10-unit condominium project. Santa Clara Commons Homeowners’ Association, Inc. (hereafter plaintiff), sued Jack Krystal and Diversified Realty Services, Inc. (hereafter developers), the general contractor “HRW Construction” and petitioner, the rough grader for the project. The defendants filed cross-complaints for indemnity against each other.
Developers agreed to settle with plaintiff for a total cash consideration of $90,000 plus assignment of developers’…