FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  $52.1 Million Unanimous Jury Verdict Obtained by Gibbs, Giden, Locher, Turner & Senet LLP on behalf of the City of Victorville Against Carter & Burgess (now Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.) LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, December 9, 2010 — The City of Victorville recovers virtually all damages incurred from the failed Foxborough Cogeneration Power Plant in which Carter and Burgess acted as the Design Engineer, Owner’s Engineer and Construction Manager. The $52.1 Million Verdict included a first time Breach of Fiduciary Duty verdict against a California engineering firm. Gibbs, Giden, Locher, Turner & Senet LLP (‘GGLTS’) one of California’s […]

2010 SAVING FOR A RAINY DAY – RESERVE OR ELSE . . . There has been much confusion concerning Associations’ legal duty to set aside funds for future repairs and/or for the replacement of major components. Hopefully, this Article will provide some clarity relative to this issue. By law, Associations with common areas are required to prepare a Reserve Study at least once every three (3) years. An exception to this requirement exists where the replacement value of all major components is less than one half of an Association’s gross budget. Generally, this exception only applies to Association’s with extremely […]

  2010 OUT WITH THE OLD (…WELL YOU KNOW THE REST)  Unquestionably, service on the Board of Directors for common interest community is a thankless position. Verbal abuse, threats of physical violence, long unpaid hours and telephone calls regarding members often insignificant problems in the middle night are the primary benefits received for such efforts. Occasionally, disgruntled owners seek to vent their frustration or further their personal agendas by targeting one or more members of the Board of Directors for removal. Of course, there are bad board members who occasionally deserve to be removed (and in some cases, imprisoned!). Nevada […]

2010 Download the complete presentation. DOWNLOAD HERE The content contained herein is published online by Gibbs, Giden, Locher, Turner & Senet LLP (“GGLTS”) for informational purposes only, may not reflect the most current legal developments, verdicts or settlements, and does not constitute legal advice. Do not act on the information contained herein without seeking the advice of licensed counsel. For specific questions about any of the content discussed herein or any of the content posted to this website please contact the article attorney author or send an email to info@gglts.com. The transmission of information on this, the GGLTS website, or any transmission or exchange […]

2010 CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS PUBLIC ENTITY LIABILITY FOR FAILURE TO DISCLOSE/SUPERIOR KNOWLEDGE OF MATERIAL FACTS Los Angeles Unified School District v. Great American Insurance Company & Hayward Construction Company Case: S165113, Supreme Court of California The California Supreme Court recently held that a contractor may recover extra costs from the public entity without the need to prove that the public entity affirmatively and fraudulently intended to conceal facts from the contractor.  If a public entity knew and failed to disclose material facts that would affect the contractor’s bid or performance, the public entity may be required to pay extra […]

ALATRISTE V. CESAR’S EXTERIOR DESIGNS, INC. AND GHOMESHI V. SABBAN There have been two recent decisions governing Business and Professions Code Sec. 7031(b) that bring “bad” news and some “good” news for contractors. First the “bad” news — Alatriste v. Cesar’s Exterior Designs, Inc., filed April 6, 2010, Cal. Court of Appeals, Fourth District, Div. One, is the first case to substantially review the disgorgement provision of §7031(b).  The court held that disgorgement applies to all work regardless of whether the work was performed with a license or not.  Thus, if a contractor cannot meet the substantial compliance test [§7031(e)] […]

2010 NEW CALTRANS RACE CONSCIOUS DBE PROGRAM History: Since May 2006, in response to a Ninth Circuit appellate court decision, Caltrans utilized a Race Neutral methodology with regard to its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program for federal aid transportation (DOT) projects and required local agencies to agree to implement Caltrans’ DBE program (which eliminated the long-standing use of contract goals and good faith efforts). In 2007, Caltrans commissioned a disparity study to examine utilization of the six (6) groups identified as DBEs in DOT projects. Disparity was found with regard to four (4) groups – African Americans, Native Americans, Asian […]