Oliver v. Superior Court

In Oliver v. Superior Court (1989) 211 Cal.App.3d 86, the court refused to extend strict liability to those who might build and sell a residence on an isolated or occasional basis: "We find no case law supporting imposition of strict liability on other than 'mass-produced' homes. Whether a residence falls within a category of a mass-produced home is a question which must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Here, the seller built two homes, at two different times, in two different locations. Such building is reflective of occasional construction, not mass production." (Id. at p. 89.) The Oliver court distinguished between "occasional sellers of residential units" and those who "were in the business of developing and selling them" and explained: "A home purchase through an occasional construction and sale does not involve the buyer reliance attending sales based upon an advertised model. Nor does it present a situation where the builder may protect himself from substantial financial loss by effectively spreading both the risk and actual costs of defective construction among a number of residences in a development." (Id. at pp. 88, 89.)