Fassberg Construction Co. v. Housing Authority

Fassberg Construction Company (Fassberg) appeals a judgment, after a jury trial, denying it relief on its complaint and awarding the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (Housing Authority) $3,960,500, exclusive of costs, on its cross-complaint. The action arises from a construction contract between the Housing Authority as owner and Fassberg as general contractor. The jury found that Fassberg breached the contract, that Fassberg knowingly submitted 2,983 “false claims” to the Housing Authority, and that the Housing Authority suffered $1,104,000 in damages resulting from the breach of contract and $455,000 in damages resulting from the false claims. The court trebled the latter figure and awarded a civil penalty of $500 per false claim pursuant to the California False Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 12650 et seq.). The jury also found Fassberg liable for intentional misrepresentation and awarded the Housing Authority $1,559,000 in compensatory damages and $1.2 million in punitive damages.

The court concluded that the punitive damages award duplicated the treble damages award and civil penalty, and required an election of remedies. The Housing Authority elected to…