BILL NUMBER: SB 652	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator DeSaulnier

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act to amend Sections 910 and 944 of the Civil Code, relating
to construction defect litigation.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 652, as introduced, DeSaulnier. Residential construction defect
litigation: notice requirements.
   Existing law prescribes a process for determining liability in an
action seeking the recovery of damages arising out of, or related to,
deficiencies in residential construction, design, and related issues
and sets forth specified standards in this regard. Existing law
requires a claimant alleging a violation of these standards to follow
a specified, prelitigation procedure, which includes providing a
builder who has allegedly violated those standards a notice
describing the claim in reasonable detail sufficient to determine the
nature and location, to the extent known, of the claimed violation.
Existing law limits the damages that a claimant may recover in an
action in this regard.
   This bill would revise the notice given to the builder to require
that the notice describe the claim in reasonable, specific detail
sufficient to determine the nature and location of the claimed
violation, the way in which the standard was not met, and the date
and time that the claimed violation was observed or determined not to
meet the standard, so that a reasonable person would be able to
determine the location and nature of the defect. The bill would
require a homeowner who makes a claim for damages to record the claim
in the chain of title for the property prior to any sale and to
notify a subsequent potential purchaser of the claim and the status
of the repairs. Failure to record and make this disclosure would be
the basis for a cause of action by a subsequent purchaser of the
property to require the seller to make the identified repairs or pay
the subsequent purchaser the amount of damages necessary to make the
repairs. The bill would also require the notice provided to the
builder to contain an acknowledgment of these obligations.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 910 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   910.  Prior to filing an action against any party alleged to have
contributed to a violation of the standards set forth in Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 896), the claimant shall initiate the
following prelitigation procedures:
   (a) The claimant or his or her legal representative shall provide
written notice via certified mail, overnight mail, or personal
delivery to the builder, in the manner prescribed in this section, of
the claimant's claim that the construction of his or her residence
violates any of the standards set forth in Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 896). That notice shall provide the claimant's name,
address, and preferred method of contact, and shall state that the
claimant alleges a violation pursuant to this part against the
builder, and shall describe the claim in reasonable  , specific
 detail sufficient to determine the nature and location 
, to the extent known,  of the claimed violation  , the
way in which the standard was not met, and the date and time that
the claimed violation was observed or determined not to meet the
standard, so that a reasonable person would be able to determine the
location and nature of the defect  . In the case of a group of
homeowners or an association, the notice may identify the claimants
solely by address or other description sufficient to apprise the
builder of the locations of the subject residences. That document
shall have the same force and effect as a notice of commencement of a
legal proceeding. 
   (b) The notice shall contain an acknowledgment of a homeowner's
obligation to record in the chain of title for the property an
allegation of damages and to make a disclosure to a subsequent
potential purchaser as required by Section 944.  
   (b) 
    (c)  The notice requirements of this section do not
preclude a homeowner from seeking redress through any applicable
normal customer service procedure as set forth in any contractual,
warranty, or other builder-generated document; and, if a homeowner
seeks to do so, that request shall not satisfy the notice
requirements of this section.
  SEC. 2.  Section 944 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   944.   (a)    If a claim for damages is made
under this title, the homeowner is only entitled to damages for the
reasonable value of repairing any violation of the standards set
forth in this title, the reasonable cost of repairing any damages
caused by the repair efforts, the reasonable cost of repairing and
rectifying any damages resulting from the failure of the home to meet
the standards, the reasonable cost of removing and replacing any
improper repair by the builder, reasonable relocation and storage
expenses, lost business income if the home was used as a principal
place of a business licensed to be operated from the home, reasonable
investigative costs for each established violation, and all other
costs or fees recoverable by contract or statute. 
   (b) (1) A homeowner who makes a claim for damages shall record the
claim in the chain of title for the property prior to any sale and
shall notify a subsequent potential purchaser of the property of the
amount of the claim and whether or not the claimed violation was
repaired.  
   (2) Failure to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) shall be
the basis for a cause of action by a subsequent purchaser of the
property to require the seller of the property to make the repairs
identified in the claim or pay a subsequent purchaser the amount of
damages necessary to make the repairs.