Aero-Crete, Inc. v. Superior Court

This is a complex construction defect case brought by plaintiffs Dale Village Apartment Company and related entities (Dale Village) against Pieri-Debbas Enterprises, the developer and general contractor on an apartment building project owned by Dale Village. Various subcontractors on the project have also been sued as defendants. Petitioners are certain of those subcontractors who seek writ relief after the trial court determined that a settlement between Dale Village and Pieri-Debbas was in good faith. They raise several issues related both to the court’s good faith determination and to statements it made regarding the effect of the settlement on future proceedings.

We conclude the trial court acted properly in finding the settlement to be in good faith. While the trial court is normally best served by valuing any assigned rights for the purpose of later setoffs at the time of the good faith determination, we have determined there was no mandate that it do so under the unique circumstances of this case. Finally, we explain why a prove-up hearing as to damages following Pieri-Debbas’s stipulation to liability will not bind parties later determined to be indemnitors of…