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Kenneth Gary Ruttenberg's Legal Cases (2)

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Real estate

Confidential

Jun 23, 2016

OUTCOME: $980,000 settlement

I settled a case against a prominent California real estate agent and broker for $980,000. My client, an entertainer, bought a lovely home on a bluff in the Hollywood Hills. During escrow, my client ... ’s real estate agent hired a geologist to inspect the property and to review engineering and geological reports at the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. The geologist didn’t see anything troubling during his inspection, but the LADBS reports he read were alarming. The geologist found historical reports that showed the property was unstable and likely to settle, and that the foundation should be underpinned to the bedrock. The geologist disclosed his findings to the real estate agent and sent him copies of the LADBS reports. Based on such information, any reasonable agent or broker would have told his client to walk away or at least to demand modifications in the sales price or conditions. But my client’s agent failed to disclose this information to him before close of escrow. After my client had closed escrow and started renovating the property, he discovered a large crack in the living room slab. A soil inspection then confirmed that the property was unstable and the foundation needed to be underpinned. My client was forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to install caissons to stabilize the property. I was able to settle this case to the client’s complete satisfaction, making the client whole again, because I asked tough questions and pressed for complete answers. My client had been ripped off by someone he had expressly trusted with the purchase of his dream home. I framed the allegations and took the discovery needed to prove how the agent had taken advantage of my client’s trust.

Landlord or tenant

Confidential

Apr 20, 2016

OUTCOME: $670,000 settlement

I recently settled a landlord-tenant case involving lead poisoning for $670,000. My client was exposed to lead dust while the landlords’ unlicensed contractor was performing painting and roofing work ... at the apartment complex. Initially, the tenant started experiencing coughing, sneezing, congestion, and throat pain. She then experienced gastrointestinal issues, such as nausea and diarrhea. Eventually, her symptoms worsened to include fatigue and lethargy, problems with her speech, impaired concentration, and memory loss. Finally, she experienced multiple seizure episodes. When her doctors finally tested her blood, they found extremely high lead levels. What proved very helpful in settling the case was evidence that the landlords had doctored the lead test which they presented to my client in order to make the numbers appear lower than they actually were. For instance, where the lead level in the living room was actually 3,900 micrograms per cubic meter, the landords whited-out the “3" in “3,900" to make the number look like “900.” The landlords also tried to point the finger at their unlicensed contractor who failed to protect my client’s apartment unit from lead dust. However, under California law, landlords cannot delegate their duty to ensure that the premises are in a reasonably safe condition to a contractor merely because the contractor actually performed the work. No matter how incompetent or unskilled a contractor may have been, if hired by the landlord to perform work at the landlord’s property, the landlord is answerable for any harm caused by the contractor’s negligence.