Industry: Legal moves after Berkeley ‘knee-jerk’

Legislative moves to tighten oversight of construction companies following the Berkeley balcony collapse have been branded “knee-jerk” by the main body representing building firms in California.

This after it emerged the company that built the Library Gardens complex has paid out over $22m (€19.9m) in the past three years to settle lawsuits involving balconies with water damage, according to a board charged with overseeing the licensing of contractors.

But the board knew nothing of the settlements before June’s deadly collapse as it is not notified unless a suit goes to trial and a judgement is handed down.

A California state senator has introduced legislation requiring authorities to be informed following any major settlement linked to negligence, incompetence or fraud.

The California Building Industry Association is opposed to the bill as it is written, president David Cogdill said, adding the association will oppose any reforms that will force firms to pay “extortion”.

“It’s a knee-jerk reaction. A lot more study and analysis needs to be done. Legislators have a tendency to do this kind of thing rather than be as thoughtful as possible and take a little more time.”

Mr Cogdill said it was not clear how many suits settled by Segue Construction, the lead contractor on the Berkeley site, were related to defects and mistakes.

The association will introduce amendments to ensure the safety of the public “rather than create more opportunities for lawsuits” that drive up house prices.

It wants to make sure reforms are not “misused” leading to companies being “forced to pay extortion”.

The Construction State License Board has been trawling through court documents since the tragedy that killed six students, five of them Irish, and badly injured seven others. It has found Segue has paid out more than $22m to settle suits involving water damaged balconies.

“Had we known about the suits and the underlying reasons for them, we would have absolutely taken action,” David Fogt, the board’s chief of enforcement, told the Sacramento Bee newspaper.

However, the construction industry is doubling down. Mr Cogdill said the reasons for the collapse are still under investigation and it is not yet known whether it was a construction defect, other negligence or some other defect.

The city of Berkeley said the wood supporting the balcony was water damaged and rotten. A criminal investigation has been launched.

Families of the victims have said they will do everything they can to make sure such a tragedy does not happen again.

In a joint statement, the families of cousins Olivia Burke and Ashley Donohue said: “We will fight to make changes so that no family will ever have to go through what we have been through for the past five days which has changed our lives for ever.”