Oak Springs Villas Homeowners Ass'n v. Advanced Truss Systems, Inc.

[1306]Opinion

BIGELOW, P. J. A nonsettling defendant appeals from the trial court’s determination that a settlement between plaintiff and other defendants in the case was reached in good faith. Because appellant appeals from a nonappealable order, we dismiss the appeal.

FACTS AND DISCUSSION

Oak Springs Villas is a 24-condominium, eight-building complex located in Santa Clarita. It was developed by Sand Canyon Properties, Inc., Oak Springs Villas, LLC, and Monteverde Development Co. J&J Rodgers Corporation (J&J)1 acted as the general contractor and retained Southland Framers, Inc., to provide all labor and materials to frame the buildings, including installing the trusses that supported the roof. Southland Framers purchased the roof trusses and truss plans from Advanced Truss Systems, Inc. (ATS), but installed the trusses itself. ESI/FME, Inc. (ESI), a structural engineering firm, was retained to ensure that structural components of the roof framing and support structure complied with the structural design, plans and specifications. ESI certified that the framing and foundations complied with the Santa Clarita building code.

In December 2007, the Oak Springs Villas Homeowners Association (HOA) brought suit against the Developer Defendants, ATS, ESI, Southland Framers and others for construction defects found in the buildings. Among other things, the complaint alleged that the buildings had framing deficiencies which caused the roof to sag and were the result of defective design, manufacture, or installation of the trusses. The Developer Defendants cross-complained against the subcontractors, including ATS and Southland Framers, for indemnity.

The HOA first settled with Southland Framers, which was no longer in business, for the remainder of its insurance policy. ESI also settled for approximately $50,000 and agreed to assign its experts to the HOA. The Developer Defendants opposed ESI’s motion for determination of good faith settlement, submitting a declaration from their expert that estimated the cost of repair to be approximately $3.6 million. The trial court determined the ESI settlement was made in good faith.

A settlement with the Developer Defendants was subsequently reached; the Developer Defendants agreed to pay the remaining policy limits (approximately $867,000) from their insurance policy, submit a declaration that there