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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: the beach
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Lawyers: Why did my friend lose an easy case?
I was the civil engineer on a house project, in which the builder lost money when he sold the house. The builder sued the architect for the money lost, blaming poor design.
I was amazed that the architect was even being sued in the first place, as there was nothing wrong with the design. The builder lost money because he built too nice a house for the neighborhood, and then, of course, real estate prices plummeted. This is in the Bay Area. It was the builder who guided the architect on what he wanted, so the over-design was not the fault of the architect. Long story short, I thought the builder had no case whatsoever. I testified for hours, and still had the feeling that this was a ridiculous case. But, alas, the buildier won, and is now owed $210K. So how could this happen? How could the judge come up with such an unfair verdict?
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Charlie 1966 912 Polo Red 1950 VW Bug 1983 VW Westfalia; 1989 VW Syncro Tristar Doka |
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09-19-2010, 07:31 PM
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Justice in this country is served about as often as a broken clock is right and also rarely for the right reasons.
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09-19-2010, 07:35 PM
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Navin Johnson
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Wantagh, NY
Posts: 8,764
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Well you have lost your case here,
Since you have failed to define why you should have won the case... Even though you testified for hours.... your input was apparently ignored.. The other side made a better impression on the Judge?
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Don't feed the trolls. Don't quote the trolls  http://www.southshoreperformanceny.com '69 911 GT-5 '75 914 GT-3 and others |
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09-19-2010, 07:36 PM
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RETIRED
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Hopefully he has Errors and Omissions insurance and is covered, or he appeals, or he takes the hit.....
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09-19-2010, 07:48 PM
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Location: So. Cal.
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Did you say Bay Area ???
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Marv Evans '69 911E |
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09-19-2010, 08:04 PM
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I thought there was a case in CA about 10 yrs. ago where a builder refused to sell to a lawyer, figuring he'd be a PITA about everything. As expected, the lawyer sued the builder for discrimination. But he lost because (at that time, at least) lawyers were not a protected class. The law has probably changed since then. I think anything is possible in CA, but judges usually make the law there as they go along.
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09-19-2010, 08:11 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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State?
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09-19-2010, 08:18 PM
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Burn the fire.
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In CA you say?
The judge probably "felt" that the architect could afford to pony up the debt. Other than that, civil matters have no moral compass.
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09-19-2010, 08:57 PM
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Quote:
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09-19-2010, 08:57 PM
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Bye, Bye.
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 6,167
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Justice is fickle.
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09-19-2010, 10:27 PM
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Friend of Warren
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lincoln, NE
Posts: 16,483
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Cold be any one of a dozen reasons. Here are my top four.
Builder had a better case. Builder had a better lawyer. Architect's attorney pissed off the judge. Builder's attorney was a friend of the judge.
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Kurt V No more Porsches, but a revolving number of motorcycles. |
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09-20-2010, 05:03 AM
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Quote:
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_____________________ These are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others.—Groucho Marx |
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09-20-2010, 05:05 AM
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A Man of Wealth and Taste
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Out there somewhere beyond the doors of perception
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The Architect should not have shown up in court wearing a McCain Palin Campaign Button and should have shown up with long scraggly hair, sandals, an Obama Yes We Can button, and with a joint hanging from his lip...all the while mumbling, "Hey man I'm an artist, and I do what artists do, like you dig man!"
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09-20-2010, 05:26 AM
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Quote:
BTW, the builder's attorney pissed off the judge repeatedly. And he asked me questions that he undoubtedly thought would be perfect "gotcha" questions, but I shot him down every time. In fact, I could see his face turn red and he looked like he wanted to just slink away a few times. Afterwards, our lawyer and I just sort of chuckled, it went so poorly for them. Maybe the architect really screwed up when he spoke. It was a deposition, so I was only in the chambers when I testified.
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Charlie 1966 912 Polo Red 1950 VW Bug 1983 VW Westfalia; 1989 VW Syncro Tristar Doka |
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09-20-2010, 06:03 AM
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Location: Charlottesville Va
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No offense, but if you didn't sit thru the WHOLE trial, no one can answer your question. Cases are never just one witness. Maybe the builders expert was even more brilliant than you.
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09-20-2010, 06:34 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Naples,FL
Posts: 3,469
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As stated above the arch should have liability insurance covering $1 million (req. in FL). The only affect he should feel is a rate hike.
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09-20-2010, 06:38 AM
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Quote:
 But, yes, maybe the question should be, "What the hell did the architect say on the stand?"
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Charlie 1966 912 Polo Red 1950 VW Bug 1983 VW Westfalia; 1989 VW Syncro Tristar Doka |
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09-20-2010, 08:19 AM
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unindicted co-conspirator
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Fresno, CA
Posts: 1,660
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liability insurance would only cover errors or omissions by the architect if he made an actual flaw in the design, it wouldn't cover if the house didn't sell for what the builder wanted, that's the risk of building spec.
I can't believe the architect lost that case. I'm calling my E&O carrier today to see what coverage i have
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09-20-2010, 10:08 AM
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abit off center
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Quote:
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______________________ Craig G2Performance Twinplug, head work, case savers, rockers arms, etc. |
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09-20-2010, 10:51 AM
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Only Porsche
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