Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 18SMCV00358, Date: 2023-01-10 Tentative Ruling

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Case Number: 18SMCV00358    Hearing Date: January 10, 2023    Dept: R

The matter is here for default prove up after the court struck defendant’s answer.

The court is satisfied as to the damages asserted for repairs and the like.  The problem is that plaintiff asserts that even after those repairs the property diminished significantly in value.  The court has trouble with this.  There is no evidence that defendant’s actions caused damage to the property that the repairs did not cure.  And the events occurred in 2018.  The court has no evidence that the housing market declined in 2018 such that the delay caused by defendant’s conduct resulted in a market impact (and even if it did, the court is not convinced that such damages are recoverable).  The matter is here today to allow plaintiff to demonstrate: (1) that defendant caused the drop in market price either through shoddy work that could not be repaired or in some other way and (2) if the diminution in value was not due to irreparable shoddy work, whether the diminution in value is recoverable at all.