Litigation Case Settlement Procedure

When Anderson & Kriger is asked to provide legal services to homeowners who are experiencing construction defects in their homes or condominiums, we first make sure that the clients have a complete understanding of the litigation process before starting any legal action.

If you have already reviewed the Recoveries for Clients section, you will notice the volume of cases handled by Anderson & Kriger since 1982 and, hopefully, understand that each of these cases involved an enormous amount of legal services and client coordination.

Initial Meeting with Homeowner

Generally, there are no attorneys' fees available in construction defect cases because the sales contracts by the developers never include a provision for attorneys' fees. Since it is very likely that there will be issues of shoddy construction, the developers don't want to have to pay attorneys' fees on top of the Cost of Repair.

We explain at our client meetings that claims filed for our clients in the California legal system will consist of three elements:

A Cost of Repair for the defects investigated;
The amount of expert and other investigation expenses that have been incurred by Anderson & Kriger under the Contingent Fee Agreement; and
Any out-of-pocket costs that the homeowners have spent before the litigation to perform investigation or repairs to the home or condo.

Settlements or Mediation Procedures

Settlements with the developer and numerous subcontractors are the general method of resolving these lawsuits. Although Anderson & Kriger attorneys are fully prepared to go to trial several times a year when the insurance companies will not compensate owners with a fair amount, the settlements generally result from protracted investigation and mediations.

Working on your behalf, our attorneys negotiate all of the defects in all of the homes based on the expert investigation conducted by our general contractor, architect, civil engineer, soils engineer and other professionals during the mediation process.

Sometimes this is done house-by-house or condo-by-condo, but normally it is done on an overall basis taking into account the insurance issues and scope of work of the subcontractors.

Wrapping Up Settlement or Mediation Negotiations

At the end of this process there is normally a definitive amount of money offered as a package from the mediator that we can recommend to our homeowners. From that amount, we take our compensation, approximately one-third, and are also reimbursed the monies we advanced to investigate the case. Our clients are entitled to receive fifty percent or more of the settlement amount after paying fees and investigation costs.

Some firms take the net amount and then divide it by the number of homes in a lawsuit. Anderson & Kriger thinks that is ridiculous because we have had experts investigate the different homes and prepare different costs of repair based on the defects in each home. We use the investigation reports of the experts to determine how much each home should receive by way of recommendation. That recommendation, with an accounting of settlement amounts and expenses, is then sent in writing to the homeowner for approval. The homeowner has the last say as to whether to sign the settlement agreement and once the recommendation is approved, the full settlement agreement is sent to the client for review.

No Cost to Homeowners During the Litigation Process

We represent hundreds of homeowners each year, and some homeowners are frankly not pleased with the amount of money they would receive in a settlement using the California legal system. We take extra time and answer our clients' questions as thoroughly as we can. However, because the construction industry will not put a provision for attorneys' fees into their sales agreements, we must take compensation from the Cost of Repair as well as be reimbursed for advancing expert investigation fees. Homeowners pay nothing throughout the litigation and they pay nothing if the litigation was unsuccessful. However, we have never been unsuccessful in our cases.

Homeowners Have the Ability to Prioritize and Make Repairs

At our homeowner meetings we explain how we use the California legal system to help get our clients as far ahead as possible financially based on the defects in their home, the insurance coverage of the developer and subcontractors, and numerous other factors that are taken into account.

Many homeowners come to us after exhausting all efforts to work with the developer's customer service department and feel that they have no other recourse for compensation.

Anderson & Kriger is dedicated to helping homeowners obtain as much money as possible from insurance companies so that they have choices about what to repair in their home.

Taking Ownership Back

Now, for the first time, homeowners have both compensation and investigation results, and a chance to set the priorities of what they want to repair. Finally, our clients have some control over the future of their home ownership as a result of 18-24 months of litigation efforts.

Experience & Commitment to California Homeowners

The case settlement procedure described above can vary from case to case and it is certainly different for condominiums or condominium conversions that have a Board of Directors involved in the process.

However, it is the general litigation process consistently followed by the Anderson & Kriger legal staff which has provided very positive results for thousands of California homeowners since 1982 as described more fully in the Recoveries for Clients section.

Contact a California Homeowner Dedicated Attorney at A&K Law Offices:

Call us now at 1.877.494.1046 (Southern California Residents) or 1.800.365.2075 (Northern California Residents) to speak with an attorney or send an eMail to schedule a no-cost consultation. Let us help you protect your home!