$1.3M Judgment: San Francisco Code Violation Case
Table of Contents
Case Background
A high-profile legal struggle that the City and County of San Francisco and the People of the State of California had pursued against several Defendants, including property owners and building consultants, finally closed with a significant financial settlement. The case, which centered on repeated, unlawful building activity across the city, formally ended years of contentious litigation.
The City, driven by its City Attorney’s Code Enforcement Team, originally launched the civil action to target a pattern of alleged violations involving state consumer protection laws, the San Francisco Municipal Code, and fundamental public safety regulations. The Complaint, which the City filed in 2018, named multiple parties, including the consulting firm Santos & Urrutia Associates, Inc., and individuals Rodrigo Santos, Albert Urrutia, Kevin J. O'Connor, Peter McKenzie, Dongwei Wang, Daisy Zou, and Veronica Wang. The legal team had been seeking to compel the Defendants to correct extensive, dangerous work and pay substantial penalties.
Cause
The central dispute involved claims that the Defendants either performed or directed significant construction, remodeling, and structural work without obtaining mandatory permits and proper oversight from the Department of Building Inspection (DBI). The Plaintiffs alleged this conduct showed a clear pattern of negligence and unlawful business practices. This systematic avoidance of the regulatory process had compromised the legal framework designed to protect buildings and residents.
Injury
The Plaintiffs primarily focused their argument on the severe risk the public had faced. By sidestepping inspections, the Defendants’ unpermitted work created potential structural hazards and unsafe living conditions, which the City classified as a public nuisance. The legal ac
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