Thursday, December 18, 2014

Lennar Homes v. Stephens (Cal. Ct. App. - Dec. 18, 2014)

Pigs get fat.  Hogs get slaughtered.

Lennar Homes of California learns that lesson today.

It put an incredibly onerous "indemnity" clause into its contract of adhesion with its home buyers, and then tried to enforce that clause to force a named plaintiff in a class action suit against it to pay all of Lennar's attorney's fees.

The trial court granted the home buyer's motion to strike Lennar's indemnity action under the anti-SLAPP statute, and the Court of Appeal affirms, finding the clause unconscionable.

So now Lennar has to pay the other side's attorney's fees for trying to force it to pay theirs.

Don't be greedy.