Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I recently closed escrow on a property i bought in 2003. In 2003 I bought a "do it yourself" type of kit for a barn. I did not realize that i needed a permit to put up this barn and therefore did not disclose the fact that i did not obtain a permit. The new owner is a contractor, apparently his dad is an attorney. Neither of them researched the permit issue before the close of escrow. The day after escrow closed, code enforcement contacted new owners (responding to an anonymous phone call complaint regarding un-permitted barn) with notice of penalty and fees due for the barn. I offered to pay for fines and permit however, the "attorney dad" has threatened to sue me for "punitive damages"...I raise exotic birds for a living and am not familiar with what "punitive damages" makes me vulnerable to financially.
What more can i do to make things right? I am not a wealthy person....
1 Answer from Attorneys
Punitive damages are an amount of money that a trier of fact imposes on a defendant who is liable for committing fraud or some other malicious act. The amount is to punish and deter wrongdoing from others. It can be excessive, and there are case decisions on punitive damage awards being unconstitutional.
In my experience, an attorney who threatens punitive damages to settle a case that a person is willing to correct at the forefront is a "grifter."
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