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Davila v. Nickell10/26/2005
2 million to the Davila plaintiffs in prejudgment interest under Code of Civil Procedure section 998.
All defendants (except Rodriguez and Kuiper) appealed. Two of the defendants, Sun and Kay Louie, filed an extensive appellate brief raising numerous contentions directed against the plaintiffs and co-defendants Rodriguez and Kuiper. Several of the other defendants filed briefs joining in the Louies' appellate arguments.
As explained below, we conclude the court committed prejudicial error in excluding certain evidence relating to the standing of the children of Davila's girlfriend (the Davila children) to recover in a wrongful death action. We remand for a limited trial on this standing issue. We further reverse the punitive damages award in favor of the Davila children because punitive damages are not recoverable as a matter of law in a wrongful death action, and the Davila children did not plead or prove entitlement to damages on a survival theory. Because this remand may impact the amount of attorney fees and prejudgment interest previously awarded, we further direct the court to reconsider these awards after the outcome of the limited retrial. We additionally reverse an attorney fees and sanctions award to defendant Rodriguez because there is no statutory basis for this award. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Ownership and Management of Sun Villa Project
The roofing accident occurred on July 26, 1996 at a construction site at an apartment complex known as Sun Villa. The complex consisted of five two-story buildings each containing eight apartment units. Six months earlier, several parties purchased the Sun Villa property intending to renovate the apartment complex, which was in a dilapidated condition. Those purchasers were: (1) Sun and Kay Louie and (2) a corporation owned by Joseph Rumjahn, Wendell Nickell, and Michael Delaney (RND Investments, Inc. or RND). The Louies and RND each owned 50 percent of the property. Two months later, the Louies and RND formed Sun Villa of Brawley, Inc. (Sun Villa Inc.) to hold title to the Sun Villa property for purposes of the renovation. Sun Louie was Sun Villa Inc.'s president and Kay Louie was the corporate treasurer and chief financial officer. In May 1996, Sun Villa Inc. obtained a $650,000 loan for renovations. To obtain the loan, the Louies agreed to provide a personal guaranty and put $250,000 of their own money in the project.
After the loan was funded, Sun Villa Inc. hired a corporate entity (Joadd) as the general contractor on the project. The owners of Joadd consisted of some of the same individual owners of RND, the corporation that owned one-half of Sun Villa Inc.: Rumjahn, who handled the business; Nickell, who supervised the construction; and attorney Donald Scoville, who performed legal services for Joadd and Sun Villa Inc.
To obtain a city building permit, Joadd was required to be a licensed contractor and carry workers' compensation insurance. However, Joadd's license had been suspended because Joadd did not have workers' compensation insurance. To obtain a permit despite the lack of insurance, Nickell used a false certificate of workers' compensation insurance issued in May 1996 by Joadd's insurance agent (Henry Kuiper). During this time, the Louies met regularly with the other Sun Villa owners and the Joadd principals to discuss the project.
Work began on the Sun Villa apartments in May 1996. Nickell (on behalf of Joadd) was in charge of the day-to-day construction work. At the end of the month, the Louies went on a lengthy vacation to Hong Kong. Rumjahn was the Louies' long-time associate, upon whom they relied to carry
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