Decision finds O’Connor liable and concludes longstanding lawsuit and investigation that uncovered a complicated scheme to escape regulatory oversight and defraud the City
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (November 5, 2025) — City Attorney David Chiu announced today that a San Francisco Superior Court Judge ruled that developer Kevin O’Connor must pay the City over $1 million following the City’s trial victory against him for violating state and local laws by lying to City officials, excavating under homes without a permit, and endangering workers and neighboring properties.
“Kevin O’Connor intentionally defrauded the City and put San Franciscans in danger,” said City Attorney Chiu. “He recklessly excavated under homes without a permit in order to turn a quick profit. We appreciate the Court agreed this behavior is totally unacceptable and warrants a hefty penalty. In total, our litigation against O’Connor, Santos, and their co-defendants brought in over $3 million.”
“Excavating tons of dirt and rocks in a landslide zone with no permit, no legitimate engineering and no soils report is a recipe for disaster,” said Department of Building Inspection Director Patrick O’Riordan, C.B.O. “Safely built homes are not constructed with lies, forgeries and fakes. I am hopeful that this ruling will discourage others from trying to boost profits by cutting corners.”
Background
Kevin O’Connor owned and managed the construction projects at 107 Marietta Drive and 147 Marietta Drive, two single-family homes located in the Miraloma Park area of San Francisco. O’Connor intended to flip the properties to make a profit, at one point telling a co-defendant the goal of one property was to “turn it and burn it.”
In order to add a retaining wall and additional living space to double the square footage at 147 Marietta Drive, O’Connor needed to perform excavations. But, the property is located in a landslide hazard area and excavations require extra review to ensure seismic stability. O’Connor did not comply with the extra review and did not obtain any of the necessary excavation permits before moving forward. The unpermitted excavations created a hazardous situation and completely undermined the property’s foundation with three of the four sides compromised. To this day, some of the code violations at 147 Marietta Drive remain unabated. O’Connor’s illegal activities also harmed an adjacent property at 151 Marietta Drive, which shared a foundation with 147 Marietta Drive.
Throughout the renovations, O’Connor showed a total disregard for the law and the safety of neighboring residents and the workers he hired. He made many misrepresentations to the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection (DBI), conducted work and excavations without a building permit, lied to obtain a building permit, and submitted a forged special inspection report. At both properties, O’Connor put construction workers in significant danger. DBI issued numerous Notices of Violation (NOVs), and the issues were so significant that DBI issued stop work orders at both properties. Yet, O’Connor continued to excavate.
O’Connor created a web of fraudsters who did his bidding to quickly flip these properties and turn a profit. He hired an unlicensed contractor and an illegitimate special inspector who submitted the forged special inspection report on O’Connor’s behalf. They fraudulently used the identities of licensed contractors and misappropriated these contractors’ California Occupational Safety and Health Administration Trench/Excavation permits in order to pretend qualified contractors were working on the projects when they were not. O’Connor also hired disgraced engineer Rodrigo Santos to be his structural engineer on these projects.
The City Attorney filed a lawsuit against O’Connor and others in 2018 alleging that they violated multiple laws and created a public nuisance by endangering the public with extensive, unpermitted construction work.
On October 21, 2025, following a bench trial, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Garrett L. Wong found O’Connor violated San Francisco’s Building and Planning codes, California’s Unfair Competition Law, and State Housing Law. The Court found that O’Connor was not a credible witness, writing: “Every material assertion that he advanced in his testimony was either impeached by his words or contradicted by credible evidence. The evidence shows his proclivity for deceit and opportunity, even under oath.”
The Court determined O’Connor’s wrongdoing warranted “a substantial award,” ordering him to pay the City $1,076,500 in civil penalties. The Court also awarded the City attorneys’ fees and costs, and issued an injunction to remedy all remaining code violations to bring the properties at issue into compliance with law.
The judgment against O’Connor stems from an investigation into Rodrigo Santos, Albert Urrutia, their business, contractors and clients, including Kevin O’Connor. The City Attorney’s Office filed a civil lawsuit in 2018 against O’Connor, Santos, and many other co-Defendants who engaged in extensive fraud to circumvent state and local laws and misled City departments to avoid regulation and oversight by City departments.
On June 3, the City reached a $1.425 million settlement with Rodrigo Santos, Albert Urrutia, and their construction engineering firm, Santos & Urrutia Associates, Inc. The City previously secured an additional $500,000 in settlements from other co-Defendants. In total, the City’s investigation and lawsuit yielded over $3 million, holding Defendants accountable for their wrongdoing.
Over the years, City Attorney’s Office employees Frances Arnold, Jennifer Choi, Wade Chow, Elizabeth Coolbrith, Peter Keith, Yvonne Meré, Renée Rosenblit, Hunter Sims, Keslie Stewart, Carol Stuart, along with other former employees, worked on this matter to hold O’Connor, Santos, and their co-Defendants accountable for breaking the law.
The case is City and County of San Francisco, et al. v. Santos & Urrutia Associates, Inc., et al., San Francisco Superior Court, Case No. CGC-18-569923. The statement of decision can be found here.
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