Violante v. Communities Southwest Devel. And Construction
Filed 3/16/06 Violante v. Communities Southwest Devel. And Construction CA4/2
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION TWO
| MARGARITO VIOLANTE et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. COMMUNITIES SOUTHWEST DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION COMPANY et al., Defendants and Respondents. | E037333 (Super.Ct.No. SCVSS 110103) OPINION |
APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. Mary E. Fuller, Judge. Affirmed.
Law Offices of Herb Fox, Herb Fox; Donahoo & Associates and Richard E. Donahoo for Plaintiffs and Appellants.
Mundell, Odlum & Haws and James A. Odlum for Defendant and Respondent
Yucaipa Valley Acres.
Gresham, Savage, Nolan & Tilden, Theodore K. Stream, William C. Holzwarth; Cox, Castle & Nicholson, John S. Miller, Jr. and Dwayne P. McKenzie for Defendants and Respondents Communities Southwest Development et al.
Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld, Sandra Rae Benson, Patricia M. Gates and Roberta D. Perkins for Northern California Electrical Construction Industry Labor-Management Cooperative Trust and Work Preservation Fund, a non-profit labor/management cooperative venture and Northern California Basic Crafts Alliance on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant Margarito Violante.
1. Introduction
We hold that a subcontractor's employee on a public works project cannot sue the prime or general contractor on theories of statutory or contractual liability for the nonpayment of prevailing wages by the subcontractor, the employee's direct employer. Although both sides on this issue have advanced compelling public policy arguments in favor of their respective positions, we deem those more appropriate for legislative rather than judicial consideration. (California Teachers Assn. v. Governing Bd. of Rialto Unified School Dist. (1997) 14 Cal.4th 627, 632; Crusader Insurance Co. v. Scottsdale Insurance Co. (1997) 54 Cal.App.4th 121, 134.) Our review of the statutory scheme governing prevailing wages finds no private right of action for enforcement by a subcontractor's employee against other parties than the subcontractor. In addition, we reject plaintiffs' theories of recovery based on principles of third-party breach of contract and unfair competition.
Plaintiffs are construction workers seeking to launch a class action against defendants for recovery of prevailing wages. Plaintiffs appeal from a judgment after the trial court sustained without leave to amend the demurrers of defendants Communities Southwest Development and Construction Company and Chapman Heights (collectively â€
