{"id":42759,"date":"2014-10-06T06:48:09","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T12:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=42759"},"modified":"2014-09-30T15:48:48","modified_gmt":"2014-09-30T21:48:48","slug":"defective-stairways-can-considered-patent-construction-defect-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/defective-stairways-can-considered-patent-construction-defect-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Defective Stairways can be considered a Patent Construction Defect in California"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lockhart Park LP – Construction Lawyers Blog – September 9, 2014<\/p>\n

Stairs are not safe!\u00a0 At least the Court of Appeal in the Second Appellate District of California doesn\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n

A rail station in Los Angeles was completed by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (\u201cMTA\u201d) in 1993. \u00a0The rail station was part of the development of the Southern California Rapid Transit District Metro Rail Project.\u00a0\u00a0 In 2011, the plaintiff fell on a stairway at the station. In August 2012, Plaintiff sued the MTA for dangerous condition of public property, statutory liability, and negligence.\u00a0 Among other defects, plaintiff alleged the banister of the stairwell was \u201ctoo low\u201d and the stairwell \u201ctoo small\u201d given the number, age, and volume of people habitually entering and exiting the rail station.\u00a0 In addition, plaintiff alleged that MTA \u201cfailed to provide adequate safeguards against the known dangerous condition by, among other acts and omissions, failing to properly design, construct, supervise, inspect and repair the Premises causing the same to be unsafe and defective for its intended purposes.\u201d\u00a0 MTA, in turn, cross-complained against Hampton- the entity that provided design and construction services at the station.<\/p>\n

Hampton demurred to the first amended cross-complaint, asserting a four year statute of limitations defense pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 337.1, claiming the alleged deficiencies were patent defects.\u00a0 On September 11, 2013, the trial court overruled the demurrer finding that the defect was not patent. \u00a0Hampton appealed.<\/p>\n

The appellate court overruled the trial court\u2019s ruling and in fact, granted Hampton\u2019s writ of mandate and even directed the trial court to sustain the demurrer without leave to amend!(Delon Hampton & Associates v. Sup. Ct. (Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority) (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 3; June 23, 2014) 227 Cal.App.4th 250, [173 Cal.Rptr.3d 407].)<\/p>\n

The appellate court found that the purpose of section 337.1 is to \u201cprovide a final point of termination, to protect some groups from extended liability.\u201d A \u201cpatent deficiency\u201d has been defined as a deficiency which is apparent by reasonable inspection. \u00a0See Tomko Woll Group Architects, Inc. v. Superior Court (1996) 46 Cal.App.4th 1326, 1336.\u00a0 The court found a patent defect can be discovery by the kind of inspection made in the exercise of ordinary care and prudence, whereas a latent defect is hidden and would not be discovered by a reasonably careful inspection. \u00a0See Preston v. Goldman (1986) 42 Cal.3d 108, 123.\u00a0 The test to determine whether a construction defect is patent is an objective test that asks \u201cwhether the average consumer, during the course of a reasonable inspection, would discover the defect\u2026\u201d\u00a0 See Creekbridge Townhome Owners Assn., Inc. v. C. Scott Whitten, Inc. (2009) 177 Cal.App.4th 251, 256.<\/p>\n

An example of a defect that is latent includes:<\/p>\n

Improperly designed heating and air conditioning system that causes uncontrollable temperature fluctuations. See Baker v. Walker & Walker, Inc. (1982) 133 Cal.App.3d.<\/p>\n

Examples of patent defects include:<\/p>\n

Absence of a fence around a swimming pool. See Mattingly v. Anthony Industries, Inc. (1980) 109 Cal.App.3d 506, 510-511.<\/p>\n

Raised paving stones on a patio. See Tomko Woll Group Architects, Inc. v. Superior Court (1996) 46 Cal.App.4th 1326, 1336.<\/p>\n

The appellate court reasoned that defects involving stairs and guardrails, as well as the spacing between guardrails have been found to be patent. \u00a0See Neiman v. Leo A. Daly Co. (2012) 210 Cal.App.4th 962, 965, 972; see also\u00a0 The Luckman Partnership, Inc. v. Superior Court (2010) 184 Cal.App.4th 30, 36. \u00a0The Building Code is replete with safety measures required on stairs.\u00a0 Id. Therefore, the court found that it is evident that stairs have the potential to be dangerous and the risk of falling is heightened on stairs.\u00a0 Therefore, the defects should have been discovered upon a reasonable inspection.\u00a0 Id.<\/p>\n

The lesson learned here is when it comes to walking down stairs: look before you leap! If you are a contractor that has been sued for defective stairway construction: look to demurrer.<\/p>\n

via Defective Stairways can be considered a Patent Construction Defect in California \u2014 Construction Lawyers Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lockhart Park LP – Construction Lawyers Blog – September 9, 2014 Stairs are not safe!\u00a0 At least the Court of Appeal in the Second Appellate District of California doesn\u2019t think so. A rail station in Los Angeles was completed by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (\u201cMTA\u201d) in 1993. \u00a0The rail station was part… Continue reading Defective Stairways can be considered a Patent Construction Defect in California<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[19,3610,187],"class_list":["post-42759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-defects","tag-construction-defects-2","tag-stairways","tag-statute-of-limitations","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nDefective Stairways can be considered a Patent Construction Defect in California - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/defective-stairways-can-considered-patent-construction-defect-california\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defective Stairways can be considered a Patent Construction Defect in California - Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lockhart Park LP – Construction Lawyers Blog – September 9, 2014 Stairs are not safe!\u00a0 At least the Court of Appeal in the Second Appellate District of California doesn\u2019t think so. 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