Belasco

Plaintiff David Belasco bought a newly constructed Manhattan Beach residence in 2004 from the builder, defendant Gary Loren Wells. In 2006, Belasco filed a complaint against Wells with the Contractors’ State License Board (the Board) regarding alleged construction defects. Belasco and Wells settled the dispute in 2006 by written agreement, with Wells paying $25,000 and Belasco executing a release and a Civil Code section 1542 waiver of all known or unknown claims. In 2012, Belasco filed this action against Wells, Wells’s surety American Contractors Indemnity Company (American Contractors), and Glenn Hatch, based on an alleged defect in the roof that Belasco discovered in 2011.

The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Wells and American Contractors, ruling that the action was barred as a matter of law by the 2006 settlement that included a release and waiver of all claims, known or unknown, in connection with the construction of the property. Belasco filed a timely notice of appeal, which he served on all defendants.

Belasco contends the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because (1) the general release and section 1542 waiver in the 2006…