Walsworth Attorneys Obtain Favorable Outcome for Clients in Habitability Case

Walsworth Partner John Kaniewski and Associate Brian Dworetzky recently obtained a court order sustaining their Demurrer to the Second Amended Complaint of four plaintiffs without leave to amend, which served to bar Plaintiffs from proceeding with their claims against our clients.

This was a habitability action relating to a condominium residence in Orange County, California.

Plaintiffs claimed that there were water intrusion issues with the unit and resulting mold, which caused various injuries. Everything seemed to be fine in terms of the working relationship between Plaintiffs and the Defendants until the Defendants decided to sell the property. Plaintiffs actually made an offer to purchase the property but did not respond to a counteroffer. The property was then sold to a third party. Thereafter, the lawsuit was filed against the Defendants. We demurred twice based on the statute of limitations and both were sustained with leave to amend.

After the court issued its tentative ruling sustaining a third Demurrer, oral arguments were heard. Plaintiffs’ counsel made an impassioned argument at the hearing that the running of the statute of limitations is a question of fact and the court should thus allow the case to proceed on this amended pleading. However, having re-reviewed the Second Amended Complaint and the applicable authorities, and having considered the argument of counsel, the court determined that this was the rare case where, as a matter of law, the failure to discover the cause of one’s injuries was due to a failure to investigate or to act with due diligence. The court then sustained the demurrer without leave to amend for a final time.

Walsworth would like to commend Brian and John and members of the firm’s staff for their exceptional work on this case.

For more information, please contact John Kaniewski or Brian Dworetzky.