CACI No. 4573. Right to Repair Act - Affirmative Defense - Unreasonable Failure to Minimize or Prevent Damage (Civ. Code, § 945.5(b))

Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2024 edition)

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4573.Right to Repair Act - Affirmative Defense - Unreasonable
Failure to Minimize or Prevent Damage (Civ. Code, § 945.5(b))
[Name of defendant] claims that [he/she/nonbinary pronoun/it] is not
responsible for [name of plaintiff]’s harm because [name of plaintiff]
unreasonably failed to minimize or prevent [his/her/nonbinary pronoun]
damages in a timely manner. To establish this defense, [name of
defendant] must prove [select one or more of the following:]
[a. [Name of plaintiff] failed to allow [name of defendant] reasonable
and timely access to the home for inspections and repairs.]
[b. [Name of plaintiff] failed to give [name of defendant] timely notice
after discovery of a construction defect.]
[c. [Specify other act or omission of plaintiff that is alleged to constitute
failure to minimize or prevent damage.]]
[Name of defendant] cannot avoid responsibility for damages due to an
untimely or inadequate response to [name of plaintiff]’s claim.
New May 2019
Directions for Use
This instruction sets forth a builders affirmative defense to a homeowners
construction defect claim under the Right to Repair Act, asserting the homeowners
failure to minimize or prevent damages. (See Civ. Code, § 945.5(b).) Select the
particular failure to mitigate alleged from a or b, or specify a different failure in c.
CACI No. 3931, Mitigation of Damages (Property Damage), may also be given for
the general principle of the plaintiff’s duty to mitigate damages.
Sources and Authority
Right to Repair Act Affirmative Defense of Homeowners Failure to Mitigate.
Civil Code section 945.5(b).
“Although the Act establishes various maximum time periods in which the
builder may respond, inspect, offer to repair, and commence repairs, the builder
avails itself of the full time allowed by the Act at its peril. The builder is liable
for the damages its construction defects cause, and even when a homeowner has
acted unreasonably in failing to limit losses, the builder remains liable for
‘damages due to the untimely or inadequate response of a builder to the
homeowners claim.’ 945.5, subd. (b).) What constitutes a timely response will
vary according to the circumstances, and the maximum response periods set
forth by the Act do not necessarily insulate a builder from damages when the
builder has failed to take remedial action as promptly as is reasonable under the
circumstances. The Act’s liability provisions thus supply builders and
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homeowners clear incentives to move quickly to minimize damages when alerted
to emergencies.” (McMillin Albany LLC v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 241,
257-258 [227 Cal.Rptr.3d 191, 408 P.3d 797].)
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)
12 California Real Estate Law and Practice, Ch. 441, Consumers’ Remedies,
§ 441.70 (Matthew Bender)
CONSTRUCTION LAW CACI No. 4573
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