Legal Question in Construction Law in California

That is going to depend entirely on the details of the situation, what caused the delay, why the work was not completed, and why a stop work notice was issued. All of those things can be caused by the conduct or failures of the contractor, the owner, the design professionals involved, or a combination. Also the terms of the relevant contracts will have an impact on the answer; for example many construction contracts have a "no damages for delay" provision. Without going over all the details there is no way to give an accurate answer.