More News from the Condo Wars....
This new case from Division 1 arose out of a condo project. After settling its claims with the developer, the GC sued several subcontractors for breach of contract and indemnity. All but one of the subs settled with the GC. The remaining sub went to trial and lost. On the sub's appeal, the Court of Appeals held:
- The GC's breach of contract claim vs. the sub accrued (and thus began to run, for purposes of the 6 year statute of limitation) at the earlier point when the sub itself performed the defective work, not at the later time of substantial completion of the overall project.
- On the GC's indemnity claim, the Court of Appeals refused to give the sub an offset based on the settlements the GC had achieved with the other subcontractors, because the sub failed to prove that the other settlements paid the GC for damages caused by its work.
- The Court held that the way the trial court apportioned responsibility for the GC's legal fees -- apportioning 1/13 of the total to the sub because there were a total of 13 subs on the project -- was arbitrary and without basis.