1. What Should You Check before Filing a Construction Claim?
The starting point is the agreement and the project record. Owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors, and design professionals may have different contractual duties, and the same project can involve several contracts with different notice and dispute provisions. Before filing, identify the parties, the agreements that govern them, the alleged breach or defect, the relief being sought, and any procedural requirement that could affect the claim. These issues often arise alongside broader construction contract and project disputes.
Read the Notice and Cure Provisions Closely
Construction contracts often contain provisions requiring written notice of defective work, delay, nonpayment, change-order disputes, or other alleged breaches. Some also provide an opportunity to inspect or cure before another remedy may be pursued.
The wording matters. A notice clause may specify who must receive notice, how it must be delivered, what information it must contain, and when it must be sent. A party should not assume that an email or an informal project conversation satisfies a contractual notice requirement without checking the agreement.
A Demand Letter Is Not a Universal Filing Requirement
California law does not impose one general rule requiring a demand letter before every construction lawsuit. In some disputes, sending a demand may still be useful for documenting the claim or opening settlement discussions. In others, the contract or a specific statute may require a more formal notice process.
Those are different questions. A voluntary demand letter should not be confused with a contractual notice requirement or a statutory prelitigation procedure.
2. Does a Statutory Prelitigation Procedure Apply?
Certain construction defect claims are subject to procedures that must occur before litigation begins. California Civil Code § 910, for example, applies when a claimant alleges violations of the residential construction standards governed by that statutory scheme. The claimant must provide the builder with written notice describing the alleged violation in reasonable detail before filing the action.
Civil Code § 910 Does Not Apply to Every Construction Dispute
The statutory procedure should not be treated as a general rule for commercial construction claims, payment disputes, delay claims, or every defect allegation. Its application depends on the type of property, the claim, and the statutory framework involved.
That distinction matters because sending an ordinary demand letter is not necessarily a substitute for a statutory notice when the statute requires a particular procedure.
3. Does the Contract Require Arbitration Instead of Court?
Before preparing a complaint, review every agreement that may contain a dispute resolution clause. California Code of Civil Procedure § 1281.2 generally provides for enforcement of a written agreement to arbitrate when an agreement covering the controversy exists, subject to statutory exceptions. Federal arbitration law may also become relevant when the transaction involves interstate commerce.
One Project Can Contain Different Arbitration Obligations
Construction projects often involve separate agreements between owners, general contractors, subcontractors, consultants, and suppliers. One agreement may require arbitration while another does not. The clauses may also define covered disputes differently.
As a result, the existence of an arbitration clause in one project document does not automatically answer whether every party and every claim belongs in arbitration. Multi-party disputes may require a closer analysis of who signed each agreement and what each clause covers. Issues involving arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution methods should therefore be examined before choosing a forum.
4. Which Filing Deadlines Need to Be Checked?
There is no single statute of limitations for “construction litigation.” The applicable period depends on the legal theory, the nature of the alleged defect or breach, when the claim accrued, and whether a statute imposes an outside period for bringing the claim. A party should identify the actual causes of action before calculating a deadline.
A Ten-Year Period Is Not a Universal Deadline
California Code of Civil Procedure § 337.15 generally bars specified claims arising from latent construction deficiencies more than ten years after substantial completion, subject to statutory exceptions. A latent deficiency is one that is not apparent by reasonable inspection.
That ten-year period should not be read as permission to wait ten years. Section 337.15 does not extend a shorter limitations period that may otherwise apply. Contract, negligence, defect, indemnity, and other claims can raise different timing questions.
Waiting to analyze the deadline can therefore create risk even when the project was completed less than ten years ago.
5. Does the Proposed Court Have Proper Venue?
If the dispute is not required to proceed in arbitration, the next question is where a court action may properly be filed. The answer does not depend simply on which courthouse is closest to the project or the claimant.
California venue statutes distinguish among different types of actions. Claims involving injury to real property can implicate the county where the property is located, while other claims may depend on the defendant's residence, the place where a contractual obligation was to be performed, or another statutory basis.
County Location and Legal Venue Are Different Questions
A project located in Los Angeles, Orange County, or San Diego does not by itself establish that every related claim must be filed there. The nature of the claim and the parties' contractual relationships matter. Venue should be checked after identifying the causes of action, not added as a geographic assumption at the end.
6. What Evidence Should Be Preserved before Filing?
The period before litigation is often when important construction evidence is easiest to lose. Repairs may alter the condition of the property, project personnel may leave, electronic communications may become harder to retrieve, and routine document systems may delete older records. Preservation should begin when litigation is reasonably anticipated, not only after a complaint is filed.
Preserve the Record That Explains What Happened
Depending on the dispute, relevant materials may include:
- Contracts, subcontracts, and amendments
- Change orders and payment applications
- Plans, specifications, and shop drawings
- RFIs and responses
- Schedules and delay records
- Inspection and testing reports
- Photographs and videos
- Emails, text messages, and project-platform records
- Notices of defect, delay, default, or nonpayment
- Repair records and expert evaluations
For a defect claim, documenting conditions before destructive testing or repair can be particularly important. For payment or delay disputes, the sequence of notices, approvals, and project communications may matter more than photographs alone.
7. What Should Be Decided before a Construction Case Is Filed?
Efore filing, the parties should be able to answer several concrete questions: what claim is being asserted, which contract governs it, whether notice has been properly given, whether a statutory prelitigation procedure applies, whether arbitration is required, when the relevant deadlines expire, where the dispute belongs, and what evidence must be preserved. Only after those questions are answered does it make sense to choose between immediate filing, arbitration, further negotiation, or another procedural step.
A dispute that has already reached this point may also overlap with broader commercial litigation issues, particularly when multiple contracts, corporate parties, indemnity claims, or related proceedings are involved.
18 Sep, 2026
