CACI No. 4571. Right to Repair Act - Damages (Civ. Code, § 944)
Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2024 edition)
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4571.Right to Repair Act - Damages (Civ. Code, § 944)
If [name of plaintiff] proves any construction defects, [he/she/nonbinary
pronoun] is entitled to recover only for the following:
a. The reasonable value of repairing the defect(s);
b. The reasonable cost of repairing any damage caused by the
repair efforts;
c. The reasonable cost of repairing and correcting any damage
resulting from the failure of the home to meet the standards;
d. The reasonable cost of removing and replacing any improper
repair made by [name of defendant];
e. Reasonable relocation and storage expenses;
f. Lost business income if the home was used as a principal place of
a business licensed to be operated from the home;
g. Reasonable investigative costs for each defect proved;
h. (Specify any other costs or fees recoverable by contract or statute.)
[[Name of plaintiff]’s right to the reasonable value of repairing any defect
is limited to the lesser of the cost of repair or the diminution in current
value of the home caused by the defect.]
New May 2019
Directions for Use
This instruction sets forth the damages recoverable in an action for construction
defects under the Right to Repair Act. (Civ. Code, § 944.) Delete those that the
plaintiff is not claiming.
Give the optional last paragraph for any claims involving a detached single-family
home. The common-law personal use exception is preserved. (Civ. Code, § 943(b).)
Sources and Authority
• Damages Recoverable Under the Right to Repair Act. Civil Code section 944.
• “The provisions of chapter 5 make explicit the intended avenues for recouping
economic losses, property damages, and personal injury damages. Section 944
defines the universe of damages that are recoverable in an action under the Act.
(§ 944 [‘If a claim for damages is made under this title, the homeowner is only
entitled to damages for’ a series of specified types of losses].) In turn, section
943 makes an action under the Act the exclusive means of recovery for damages
identified in section 944 absent an express exception: ‘Except as provided in this
title, no other cause of action for a claim covered by this title or for damages
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recoverable under Section 944 is allowed.’ (§ 943, subd. (a).) In other words,
section 944 identifies what damages may be recovered in an action under the
Act, and section 943 establishes that such damages may only be recovered in an
action under the Act, absent an express exception.” (McMillin Albany LLC v.
Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 241, 251 [227 Cal.Rptr.3d 191, 408 P.3d 797].)
• “Insofar as section 944 allows recovery only for damages resulting from failure
‘of the home,’ it is clear that ‘home’ is not limited to the structure where people
reside, because section 942 states that, ‘[i]n order to make a claim for violation
of the standards set forth in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 896), a
homeowner need only demonstrate . . . that the home does not meet the
applicable standard . . . .’ As we have seen section 896 covers a multitude of
defects not only in the residence but also in improvements such as driveways,
landscaping, and damage to the lot, etc.” (Gillotti v. Stewart (2017) 11
Cal.App.5th 875, 897 [217 Cal.Rptr.3d 860], original italics.)
Secondary Sources
6 Witkin, Summary of California Law (11th ed. 2017) Torts, § 1312
10 California Forms of Pleading and Practice, Ch. 104, Building Contracts, § 104.43
(Matthew Bender)
40 California Forms of Pleading and Practice, Ch. 460, Products Liability, § 460.11
(Matthew Bender)
12 California Real Estate Law and Practice, Ch. 441, Consumers’ Remedies,
§ 441.69 (Matthew Bender)
CACI No. 4571 CONSTRUCTION LAW
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© Judicial Council of California.
