Kohler Co. v. Superior Court of L. A. Cnty.

240 Cal. Rptr. 3d 426, 29 Cal. App. 5th 55
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedNovember 14, 2018
DocketNo. B288935
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 240 Cal. Rptr. 3d 426 (Kohler Co. v. Superior Court of L. A. Cnty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kohler Co. v. Superior Court of L. A. Cnty., 240 Cal. Rptr. 3d 426, 29 Cal. App. 5th 55 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

WILLHITE, J.

*59In 2000, the California Supreme Court ruled in Aas v. Superior Court (2000) 24 Cal.4th 627, 101 Cal.Rptr.2d 718, 12 P.3d 1125 ( Aas ) that a homeowner could not recover on a negligence claim for construction defects unless the homeowner could show actual property damage or personal injury (as opposed to purely economic loss, such as diminution in value of the home or the cost to repair the defects). After Aas was decided, representatives from the building industries, insurance companies, and homeowners came together with members of the Legislature to devise a comprehensive statutory scheme to govern construction defect litigation. That statutory scheme, commonly known as the Right to Repair Act (the Act) was enacted in 2002. (Stats. 2002, ch. 722, principally codified at Civ. Code,1 §§ 895- 945.5.) As recently explained by the Supreme Court, "[t]he Act sets forth detailed statewide standards that the components of a dwelling must satisfy. It also establishes a prelitigation dispute resolution process that affords builders notice of alleged construction defects and the opportunity to cure such defects, while granting homeowners the right to sue for deficiencies even in the absence of property damage or personal injury." ( *428McMillin Albany LLC v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 241, 247, 227 Cal.Rptr.3d 191, 408 P.3d 797 ( McMillin ).)

In the present case, we are asked to determine whether homeowners may bring a class action asserting a claim under the Act against the manufacturer of an allegedly defective plumbing fixture used in the construction of class members' homes. Based on our examination of the structure and language of the Act, as well as the legislative history, we conclude that class actions are not allowed under the Act except in one limited context: to assert claims that address solely the incorporation into a residence of a defective component, unless that component is a product that is completely manufactured offsite.

Because the claim in this case involves allegedly defective products that were completely manufactured offsite, we hold that the claim alleged under the Act cannot be litigated as a class action. Accordingly, we grant the writ petition filed by defendant Kohler Co. (Kohler), and issue a writ of mandate *60directing the trial court to vacate its order to the extent it denied in part Kohler's anti-class certification motion and to enter a new order granting the motion in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs Joanna Park-Kim and Maria Cecilia Ramos are each owners of a residential condominium dwelling in which "Rite-Temp Pressure Balancing Valves" and "Mixer Caps" (which are contained in "Rite-Temp Valve assemblies") manufactured by Kohler were installed during construction. In the third amended complaint, plaintiffs allege that these valves and mixer caps, which are designed to regulate water flow and temperature in household plumbing, do not operate as intended due to their defective design and manufacturing, and "are corroding, failing, and/or will inevitably fail," which has caused or will cause damage to other components of the household plumbing lines or fixtures.

Plaintiffs brought the instant lawsuit on behalf of themselves and all owners of residential dwellings in California in which these valves and mixer caps were installed during original construction, alleging a claim for violations of the Act, as well as claims for strict liability, warranty claims, and other claims.2 It is estimated that Kohler sold approximately 630,000 of the identified valves and mixer caps in California during the relative time period.

After plaintiffs received numerous extensions of time, totaling 18 months, to file their motion for class certification, Kohler sought to resolve the case by filing a motion for summary judgment or adjudication on threshold legal issues. The trial court granted summary adjudication as to all claims except plaintiff Ramos' warranty and negligence claims, both plaintiffs' claims under the Act, and their UCL claim. Kohler then filed a "motion re anti-class-certification," seeking a ruling that none of the remaining causes of action can be certified as a class action.

On January 22, 2018, the trial court granted Kohler's motion as to the warranty, negligence, and UCL claims, but denied it as to the claim under the Act. The court also certified its ruling for appellate review, *429on the grounds that it presented a controlling question of law upon which there were *61substantial grounds for differences of opinion, and that appellate resolution of the question would greatly advance the conclusion of the litigation. The court then stayed all proceedings pending resolution of the instant petition.

Kohler filed the instant petition for writ of mandate, asking this court to order the trial court to vacate its January 22, 2018 order to the extent it denies Kohler's anti-class-certification motion with respect to the claim under the Act and to issue a new order granting the motion in its entirety. We summarily denied the petition, and Kohler filed a petition for review in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court granted review and transferred the matter back to this court with directions to vacate our order denying mandate and to issue an order directing the superior court to show cause why the relief sought should not be granted.

We issued the order to show cause as directed by the Supreme Court, and have received a return to the petition from plaintiffs and a traverse from Kohler.3 In the return, plaintiffs demurred to the petition on the ground that the petition fails to state a justiciable basis for granting a writ of mandate and/or prohibition. But, as Kohler observes in its traverse, the Supreme Court has concluded otherwise and directed us to issue an order to show cause and consider the issue Kohler presents. The Supreme Court's order constitutes a determination that writ review is proper. ( Borg-Warner Protective Services Corp. v. Superior Court (1999) 75 Cal.App.4th 1203, 1206-1207,

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Bluebook (online)
240 Cal. Rptr. 3d 426, 29 Cal. App. 5th 55, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kohler-co-v-superior-court-of-l-a-cnty-calctapp5d-2018.