Getting a Fix on the Right to Repair: Builders Must Be Careful When Altering SB 800's Pre-Litigation Procedures
Bryan C. Jackson and Lee Gotshall-Maxon of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP
Construction defect litigation is one of the many culprits blamed for the cost and scarcity of new residential housing in California and the lack of affordable construction insurance. In an effort to reduce the cost of litigation and insurance, while still protecting homebuyers, the California legislature enacted SB 800 (California Civil Code ç895 et seq.) which, among other things, adds notice, repair and mediation procedures to residential construction defect claims.
Duty Owed to Illiterates
Wells Marble & Hurst, PLLC
The Mississippi Supreme Court has long recognized that "the suggestion of illiteracy cannot prevail for the manifest reason that there cannot be two separate departments in the law of contracts, one for the educated and another for those who are not." For this reason, it is generally held that "a contracting party has a duty to read what he signs and will be charged with knowledge of what he signed even though he fails to read it. [The rule] does not change [simply because] one cannot read or has trouble reading."
Courts Refuse to Enforce Arbitration Agreements
Carole M. Ross of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
This article provides a discussion of unenforceable arbitration agreements through an analysis of two California cases.
Are Prenuptial Agreements Enforceable In Connecticut?
Thomas D. Colin of Schoonmaker, George & Colin, P.C.
It is no secret today that more and more marriages are ending in divorce .
Unconscionability in a Commercial Setting
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Imaging Financial Services, Inc. v. Graphic Arts Services, Inc., 172 F.R.D. 322 (N.D.Ill. 3/28/97). UNCONSCIONABIL.