Penney and Associates Wins Contractor Suit

February 23, 2009 Trials Digest just came out with a verdict in Placer County where we prevailed on a contractor breach of contract suit. In sum, Penney and Associates client Summit Builders Inc. performed work for Habitat Construction Inc.. Habitat Construction failed to fully compensate Summit Builders. See page 12 of the Trials Digest for further details.

Disclaimer

DISCLAIMER: here is the legal “mumbojumbo” that we need to say.


Any and all written material contained herein from Penney and Associates or its attorneys is for informational purposes and is not intended to be construed as legal advise. Any mention of cases or the results of such cases is not intended to advise concerning the value of similar cases. Nothing herein is intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Always consult with an attorney.

Contractor Sues Insurance Company For Water Damage

CONTRACTOR SUES FOR COVERAGE FOR WATER DAMAGE

Essex Insurance Company v. City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports.

This interesting case concerns an issue of insurance bad faith and / or failure of an insurance company to cover a contractor for a job done near the Los Angeles World Airport. Professional Building Contractors Inc. was hired to soundproof buildings located near the Los Angeles Airport. Damage occurred to one of the project homes on October 15, 2004, when a severe storm blew an improperly secured tarp off of the roof which ultimately resulted in major water damage. Professional Building Contractors Inc., paid $125,000.00 to repair the damage to the home. When the contractor requested their insurance company to pay for the damages, they refused. The insurance company argued that the roof was not a “reported operation.” The contractor argued that the policy was intended to cover the entire “sound-proofing project.” The contractor cross-claimed against the insurance company alleging breach of fiduciary duty, unfair business practices, negligent misrepresentation, negligence and breach of contract.
Cross-claimant contractor was awarded $682,264 breach of contract and $2,500,000.00 in punitive damages against the insurance company. The jury voted 10/2 to grant contractor punitive damages against Essex Insurance Company.
If an insurance company refuses to cover you under your insurance policy call Penney and Associates for a consultation concerning your rights.

Blocked Storm Drain Lawsuit

Keep your drains clear and clean so that you can avoid a flood during a storm. This year in San Diego County a very interesting real property issue arose. The plaintiff Dr. Shamsii Liaghat owned property located at 1700 Torrey Pines Road in La Jolla, California. A very heavy rain storm occurred on February 23, 2005. The City of San Diego's storm drains were not adequately cleared of debris. Dr. Liaghat's property was flooded causing extensive damage due to the stopped up drains. Dr. Liaghat alleged inverse condemnation, dangerous condition, negligence, nuisance, and trespass. The city contended that it was immune from liability under Government Code Section 835 et seq. among other things. The city settled for $182,500.00.

Penney and Associates offices in Loomis handle all types of cases involving real property, easements, construction, inverse condemnation, among other things. Penney and Associates does not guarantee the outcome of any case similar to that one mentioned above.

CREDIT CARD SWEEPING

A case in Sacramento County Superior Court recently settled wherein the State of California alledged that Citibank was stealing money from credit card holders. Many credit card customers pay Citibank for their credit card bill and then an item is returned and the back payment is sent to Citibank. This becomes a positive account balance in the card holders account. The normal procedure is to carry the positive balance and credit them against future purchases. There is a select group of people that are considered "recovery status" accounts. They carry the positive balance for 60 days and then take the money and call it "legal fees collected." This is called "Account Sweeping." Remember under California law, unclaimed funds escheat (or revert to) the state. However, Citibank would not disclose to the estate of decendents if they swept any funds from the decedents credit card (thus owing the decedents estate money). The co-plaintiff (the state intervened) Albert Mellon was an employee of Citibank and discovered that Citibank had programmed its computers to secretly "sweep" the overpayments under the rug so the state and estate of the decedent would not know that Citibank was holding the extra money. After over two years of investigation plaintiff Albert Mellon advised Citibank that it had taken millions of dollars from unsuspecting clients. Mr. Mellon was fired and his computer was seized by managment. The state Attorney General launched an investigation for criminal wrong doing. According to the state, a Citibank executive stated that the sweep program could not be stopped because it would reduce the executive bonus pool. The state settled with Citibank for $3,800,000.00 and included a number of injuctions preventing Citibank from re-initiating the credit sweeps. The plaintiff Mellon (whistleblower) was awarded $300,000.00.
Penney and Associates does not imply that the above case guarantee's any type of settlement or verdict on a similar case. Penney and Associates Loomis office handles all types of credit card cases and cases dealing with company wrong doings what ever they may be. Penney and Associates can be reached at http://www.penneyandassociates.com/.

Long Trial

I just finished a one week trial in Placer County Superior Court. It was a bench trial and will receive a verdict within the next few weeks. The case was a real estate case. I will blog later about the case.

An interesting Eminent Domain case just settled. Los Angeles Unified School District attempted to condemn Alberto Plinio Carrillo's property. The interesting thing about this case is that there were so many liens on the property (too many to mention) that everyone was fighting over how much and who got paid. The case finally settled for $700,000.00 with the distribution facts not disclosed. I would doubt if Mr. Carrillo received much if anything.

Sacramento Lawyer

Hello;
I work for Penney and Associates attorney's and I am excited to start blogging. See you soon.