Law firm buys office from former defendant, leases it back

A small law firm in Sacramento with a growing business has bought the Sacramento headquarters of homebuilder JTS Communities Inc. for $8.3 million.

Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff moved Nov. 30 into the property at 401 Watt Ave. The firm is leasing about half the space back to JTS and will rent some offices to other tenants.

The law firm and homebuilder make interesting roommates.

Kershaw Cutter sued JTS last year in a class action that alleged the homebuilder misrepresented the square footage of its homes. The case settled within the past six months.

Relations are cordial, despite the lawsuit, both sides agree.

"It was not the dragged-out type of case where everybody hates each other," said Stuart Talley, a Kershaw Cutter partner.

"It's a friendly relationship," said Ian Craig, general counsel for JTS. "They've been very neighborly."

The law firm represents plaintiffs in class action, personal injury and mass-tort cases. It has racked up more than $1 billion in settlements and is now active in large-scale litigation against two national accounting firms for alleged misclassification of employees and failure to pay overtime (see related story, Page 2).

A homebuilder and land development company, JTS is feeling the housing slump. It ranks 26th among Sacramento builders, having sold 75 homes in the six-county Sacramento region through October, according to Hanley Wood Market Intelligence.

In the greater Sacramento, Yolo and Yuba areas, JTS has about a 1.1 percent market share for the first nine months of the year -- a dramatic change from a 6 percent market share in 2004, according to analyst The Gregory Group. However, the company has already sold more homes this year than in 2006.

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source: bizjournals.com