Statue of Limitations on ability to sue General Contractor

[MiesV]

Jurisdiction

California

Hello - we did an addition to our home in San Diego, California that was completed in June of 2019. Beginning last year in February 2023 we started having a lot of issues with the construction quality, things like leaking windows, leaking roof, siding popping off, possible foundation issues, possible mold, etc. This winter with the most recent round of rains the situation has only gotten worse. Before we began the project I had asked the General Contractor for a copy of their insurance and verified it was active. I recently contacted the GC's insurance about making a claim and we have not been able to make any head way with them. It was suggested we find an attorney and sue them and/or the GC. So my questions are:

Is there a statute of limitations in California for how long we have to be able to sue the General Contractor and/or his insurance on a single-family residential project?
Is it typically possible to have an attorney assist/guide with preparing a suit on an hourly basis or partial contingency with a construction defect type case?

Attaching a redacted copy of the original agreement we had with them just as reference, thank you!

 

[adjusterjack]

Is there a statute of limitations in California for how long we have to be able to sue the General Contractor

Statute of Limitations - getting_started_selfhelp

and/or his insurance

You don't sue his insurance. You never sue his insurance. You sue the contractor if it comes to that but you should be talking to the contractor about the defects before you sue. His insurance won't give you the time of day until he notifies them that there is a claim against him.

Is it typically possible to have an attorney assist/guide with preparing a suit on an hourly basis or partial contingency with a construction defect type case?

That would be up to the attorney. You'll have to call and ask.

Attaching a redacted copy of the original agreement we had with them just as reference, thank you!

Thank you but I'm not going to read 11 pages and I doubt if anybody else will. Comprehensive contract review and interpretation is not something we do here anyway.

 

[MiesV]

Thank you for that, very helpful. We had a falling out with the contractor at the end of the project so we would definitely not want to be reaching out to him and/or have him do any of the work to fix anything.

 

[Zigner]

Thank you for that, very helpful. We had a falling out with the contractor at the end of the project so we would definitely not want to be reaching out to him and/or have him do any of the work to fix anything.

You likely need to give him a reasonable opportunity to repair any defects.

 

[zddoodah]

I recently contacted the GC's insurance about making a claim and we have not been able to make any head way with them.

The GC's insurer? Or the GC's bonding company? Very different things. You want the company that issued the GC's contractor's license bond, which you can look up here: Check A License - CSLB (and, if you know who the subcontractors are who did shoddy work, you should look up their bonds as well).

While the maximum amount recoverable by a homeowner against a contractor's license bond is $25k, sometimes, the threat of a claim and losing the bond (which will result in license suspension) will result in the contractor fixing the mess.

It was suggested we find an attorney and sue them and/or the GC.

To be clear, it would not be proper for you to sue the GC's insurer. It would be proper to sue the license bond surety.

Is there a statute of limitations in California for how long we have to be able to sue the General Contractor and/or his insurance on a single-family residential project?

The SOL to sue for breach of written contract is four years from the date of breach. The SOL to sue for negligence is two years from the date of the negligent act or omission. The SOL to sue on a contractor's license bond is a bit complicated, but if you sue within the two-year negligence SOL, you should be fine with the CLB also.

Is it typically possible to have an attorney assist/guide with preparing a suit on an hourly basis or partial contingency with a construction defect type case?

Hourly basis? Absolutely.

P.S. With respect to the contractor's insurance, section XI of your contract mentions general liability, workers' comp and contractor's risk coverage. None of those will be of any use to you. I've never heard of a residential contractor who carries the sort of coverage that might be useful to you.