Legislature: Construction defect reform bill dies in Senate

(AP) - Proposed construction defect lawsuit reforms that were criticized as "window dressing" by the building industry died in the Senate late Monday.

AB401 sponsored by Democratic Assembly Speaker John Oceguera failed on 9-12 vote.

The bill would have set a three-year statute of limitation to bring suits for willful conduct or fraudulent concealment of construction deficiencies. It also would have allowed attorneys' fees to be awarded only to the prevailing party and require they be approved by a judge.

But construction industry representatives argued the bill doesn't go far enough to address industry concerns and should be abandoned.

One critic equated it to "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic."