Collins Development Co. v. D.J. Plastering, Inc

In Collins Development Co. v. D.J. Plastering, Inc. (2000) 81 Cal.App.4th 771, a case involving claims of defective exterior stucco, this court upheld a jury award of damages to a homeowners' association calculated on a cost of repair basis, holding the method of calculating those damages did not make them unrecoverable in a strict liability action. The Court explained: "Although we agree the association was required to show that it had suffered some physical harm to its property aside from the installation of defective stucco, it more than met this burden by presenting testimony that the defective stucco had allowed water to seep into walls and caused damage to lathing and tar paper. The fact that damages for this physical damage were calculated on the basis of the cost of repairing the stucco so that the damage to the other parts of the building would abate did not change the nature of the damage the association suffered." (Collins Development Co. v. D.J. Plastering, Inc., supra, 81 Cal.App.4th at pp. 778-779.)