People v. Labaer

In People v. Labaer (2001) 88 Cal.App.4th 289, the Court held a partially disassembled mobilehome satisfied the statutory definition of a structure. (Labaer, supra, 88 Cal.App.4th at p. 294.) In that case, the defendant did not dispute the mobilehome constituted a "building" for the purposes of arson statutes in the months prior to the fire. (Id. at 292.) The Court noted the "evidence established the home was fixed to a particular location, could not be readily moved, and had been used as defendant's residence for several months." (Ibid.) The issue in Labaer was whether defendant's actions of dismantling the mobilehome the day before the fire "converted the mobilehome from a 'structure' under section 451, subdivision (c) to generic 'property' subject to lesser punishment under section 451, subdivision (d)." (Id., at p. 293.) The Court concluded it remained a structure because the dismantling was not completed. (Ibid.) It had four sides not amounting to solid walls, but with insulation and a partial roof. The interior was largely intact with an interior wall, furnishings, stairs leading to the front door and a particleboard floor. (Id., at pp. 293-294.)