Legal Question in Construction Law in California
Who can be held liable in a lawsuit for ''poor workmanship''
I will refer to our company as Company B and the other company as Company A.
My father owns his own business, before he worked for another plastering company. That company is now being sued for ''poor workmanship.'' We got named on the service, it was shown as Company A AND Company B. Well the job was years before this company was created, so our lawyer (who also reps Company A) shot of a letter to the other lawyers telling them to take our name off of it or we'd sue them. So they took it off but then named my dad personally. What they're saying is that because they believe my dad was in a management position he is also liable and our lawyer says there's a law out there that backs it. Company A is a corporation owned solely by one person, my dad was not a corporate officer and did not have interest in the company. His only role in this particular job was that he estimated the cost of it and scheduled the workers days, Company A owner signed all the contracts, my dad didnt sign anything. Their main complaint was the drywall, comp A owner sub contracted a drywall company (my dad had nothing to do with it). My dad had very little involvement in this job. Can he be sued personally for this? Can we sue the owner of Company A if he is?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Who can be held liable in a lawsuit for ''poor workmanship''
It is the general practice in a construction defect case for the plaintiff to name everyone and their brother who may have been remotely involved in the construction. It is premature to tell whether your dad has any liability or not, but he definitely can be sued. You may have a cross complaint against company A, but whether you file a cross complaint against company A is as much a legal decision as it is a tactical one. You may be in a better position tactically, if you join forces with the other defendants as a screen against the plaintiff. Construction defect cases are expensive cases to defend and to pursue, sometimes costing in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for each party. If your dad does not have the resources to defend this lawsuit, he may want to consider other options, like asset protection or bankruptcy.
Re: Who can be held liable in a lawsuit for ''poor workmanship''
Anybody can sue anybody for anything. Winning requires evidence of fault and liability sufficient to prove the case. If you're sued, you defend, using the witnesses, facts and evidence you have. Get an attorney. If serious about doing so, and if the case is in SoCal, feel free to contact me.
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