Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Mediation vs Jury Trail
I need to speak to a contruction defect/real estate attorney. After 1 month of living in our home we were told our house was infested with termites and our decks were dry rot. Even though we had a free and clear cert. from the Termite. Our RE agent told us to take it up with the termite company (sellers choice and paid for repair prior to escrow closing) The termite company disapeared. We have been in court for over 2 years. The damage is 170K we paid 635K for our house. Been to mediation twice, we sued the sellers, their agent , our agent and termite. We gave up 50K plus in trying to settle and the others parties didn't budge. Their expert witness quote is 49K?? My attorney bill is close to 40K and my attorney says if we go to trail he will opt out? Can someone please help us
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Mediation vs Jury Trail
Sure, either settle for something or get a new attorney if you're serious about demanding trial. There are no guarantees of outcome at trial, and unrealistic expectations will not be met. Feel free to contact me if serious about getting counsel, and willing to hear an opinion that you might not like [sounds like your current attorney already told you something you didn't like]. I'll be happy to help you, at least to provide you a second opinion, or take over the case.
Re: Mediation vs Jury Trail
Check your purchase agreement with the sellers. It might provide for you to recoup attorney's fees if you prevail. If you prevail at trial, you might be able to recoup your attorney's fees and out-of-pocket repair costs. You will need to pay a termite extermination/construction expert, who could cost you a bit of money for trial.
One issue, of course, is that if you had a pre-purchase inspection by someone of your own choice who gave the property a clean bill of health, you might have assumed the risk as far as the sellers are concerned. If you didn't have an inspection, you were foolish not to do so and might also have assumed the risk of problems that were patent (discoverable).
These are complicated legal issues that cannot be fully addressed in a LawGuru post without access to your entire file.
Re: Mediation vs Jury Trail
Some attorneys have an aversion to trial. We focus on litigating civil disputes, particularly those involving property damage and construction defects. If you are certain your attorney will opt out if the case proceeds to trial, then you should engage one willing to go to trial sooner than later, particularly since two prior mediations have failed.
If you are serious about switching representation, contact our office.
Best of Luck!
www.SoCalConstructionLaw.com
714.904.1669
George M.
Re: Mediation vs Jury Trail
I hope when you hire your next attorney, you'll do so on a fixed fee basis so you don't get taken for a ride again.
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