The Condominium Warranty Against Structural Defects in the District of Columbia
July 24, 2023 —
Nicholas D. Cowie - Cowie Law GroupTHE CONDOMINIUM WARRANTY AGAINST STRUCTURAL DEFECTS
Condominium developers in Washington DC are required by statute to warrant against structural defects in residential condominiums. District of Columbia Condominium Act (“DC Condo Act”) § 42-1903.16(b). The warranty applies to both condominium common elements and each condominium unit. It requires a developer to repair structural defects, including any resulting damage to the condominium caused by a common element structural defect. DC Condo Act § 42-1903.16(a-1)(2). The statute creating this warranty is called the “Warranty Against Structural Defects,” contained in the DC Condo Act § 42-1903.16.
“Structural Defects” Defined
The warranty applies to “structural defects,” which are very broadly defined to include many types of construction defects. Structural defects are not just limited to defects in the supporting structure of the building. Rather, a structural defect can be any condition that:
“(A) Reduces the stability or safety of unit or common elements below standards commonly accepted in the real estate market,” or
(B) Restricts the normally intended use of all or part of the common elements of a unit and which requires repair, renovation, restoration, or replacement to serve the purpose for which it was intended.”
DC Condo Act § 42-1903.16(j)(6).
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Nicholas D. Cowie, Cowie Law GroupMr. Cowie may be contacted at
ndc@cowielawgroup.com
Lead Paint: The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule
September 09, 2019 —
Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law MusingsFor this week’s Guest Post Friday here at Musings, we welcome Joshua Glazov for the first time. Josh has been a construction lawyer since 1995. He practices at Much Shelist in Chicago and focuses on negotiating and preparing design and construction contracts for owners, contractors, and lenders, as well as preparing for, and confronting, construction related insolvency when a project participant goes bankrupt or a lender goes into FDIC receivership. Josh publishes on these topics at his blogs: Construction Law Today and the Bank Failure Blog.
Last month the EPA finally issued their Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (PDF), the one that sets up new requirements for work on projects that may involve lead paint. The requirements are many complex. You’ll need to become familiar with this rule if you do any renovation , repair, or painting work, especially of your work is on buildings built before lead paint was banned in 1978.
- You’ll need to become a certified by the EPA as a Certified Renovation Firm
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The Law Office of Christopher G. HillMr. Hill may be contacted at
chrisghill@constructionlawva.com
Deadly Fire in Older Hawaii High-Rise Causes Sprinkler Law Discussion
July 19, 2017 —
David Suggs – Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc.Last Friday, at least three people died and twelve were injured during a fire at a Honolulu high-rise that did not have sprinklers, according to CBS News. The fire began on the 26th floor and spread to at least the 28th floor and several units, the Honolulu Fire Department spokesman, Captain David Jenkins, stated.
“Without a doubt if there were sprinklers in this apartment, the fire would be contained to the unit of origin,” Captain Jenkins concluded, as reported by CBS News.
The Marco Polo development “was built four years before Honolulu required fire sprinkler systems in new residential high-rises,” the LA Times reported. “In 2005, the Honolulu City Council created a task force to estimate the cost of retrofitting and installing fire sprinkler systems in about 300 residential condominium buildings. A report estimated that retrofitting the Marco Polo would cost $4,305.55 for each unit.” A separate report estimated the cost would be $4.5 million to retrofit the entire building.
According to Samuel Dannway, chief fire protection engineer for Coffman Engineers in Honoloulu, stated that the owners “lobbied strongly against any retrofitting” due to cost.
Retrofitting sprinklers is more challenging in residential high-rises than office buildings, Glenn Corbett, associate professor of fire science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York told the LA Times. “Wall after wall, you have to penetrate with piping, and that means moving people around in apartments,” Corbett said. “They can’t live there while workers are drilling holes in their walls.”
Mayor Kirk Caldwell stated that Honolulu “needs to look at passing a new law requiring sprinklers in older high-rises.”
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What California’s COVID-19 Reopening Means for the Construction Industry
July 05, 2021 —
Garret Murai - California Construction Law BlogThis past Wednesday, Governor Newsom announced that California would reopen after being in lockdown for over a year due to COVID-19. Gone is Governor’s Stay at Home Executive Order. Gone is California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. And gone is the state’s somewhat confusing four-tier, yellow (minimal), orange (moderate), red (substantial) and purple (widespread), risk-level mapping system.
So what does this mean for the construction industry?
Well it’s not quite business back to usual. CalOSHA’s Standards Board voted this past Thursday to pass revised COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“Revised Standards”). That same day, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-09-21 implementing the Revised Standards immediately while they are being reviewed by the Office of Administrative Law.
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Garret Murai, Nomos LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@nomosllp.com
Montana Significantly Revises Its Product Liability Laws
May 22, 2023 —
William L. Doerler - The Subrogation StrategistOn May 4, 2023, Montana changed its product liability laws when the Governor signed SB 216, which was effective upon passage and applies to claims that accrue on or after May 4, 2023. Among the changes is the adoption of a sealed container defense and the application of comparative negligence principles in strict liability actions. Montana also adopted a defense based on certain actions not being brought within 10 years. In addition, Montana adopted a rebuttable presumption with respect to a product’s defective condition. A jury must be informed about this rebuttable presumption with respect to certain warnings claims, premarket licensing procedures or claims involving drugs and/or medical devices. The changes to the Montana Code are further described below.
- In situations where there are multiple defendants, a defendant in a strict liability or breach of warranty action may now assert, as a defense, that the damages of the claimant were caused in full or in part by a person with whom the claimant has settled or released from liability. See MCA § 27-1-703(6)(a) (as revised). Comparative negligence or fault defenses are also available in actions against sellers, even where there are not multiple defendants. See MCA § 27-1-719(4)(e) (discussing a seller’s defenses in situations other than multiple defendant situations) (as revised).
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William L. Doerler, White and Williams LLPMr. Doerler may be contacted at
doerlerw@whiteandwilliams.com
School District Client Advisory: Civility is not an Option, It is a Duty
May 13, 2014 —
Gregory J. Rolen - Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP“I could not but wonder at the Queen’s unprecedented civility, until I realized with a flush of shame that it was my own improved behavior that motivated hers. So it is that we in life determine our own treatment.” - Catherine Gilbert Murdock
I. We Must Actively Encourage Board Civility
Over 20 years of experience representing public entities has taught me there is nothing more important than civility. On April 11, 2014, I was a featured presenter on, "How to Keep School Boards Out Of Trouble!" My initial focus was to educate the board members about open meeting laws, public records, and conflict provisions. Instead, I began by addressing board "civility." The discussion became animated. The audience was transfixed, appalled, and even amused at my examples of how uncivilized board behavior led to lawsuits, bad press, wasted resources and low morale. One attendee asked me to define civility. I meekly responded, "The Golden Rule?" "Disagreeing without being disagreeable?" My answers were inadequate. I then had a humbling epiphany. As an education law specialist, and the General Counsel of one of the largest, most diverse school districts in California, I needed to do more to foster civility among the board members I served. I had underestimated the destructive effects of incivility on my district, my colleagues, and my community.
On some level I realized that the coarsening of the discourse was taking its toll. However, I was so involved in performing my duties; I forgot to do my job. I should have taken a step back and implemented training, policies, initiatives and protocols to promote civility. I realize that it is unfortunate that we have to establish standards for adult interactions, especially for people who have promised to place service over self. As I learned, you can never fully anticipate human interactions or the complexities of the human condition. That is why I believe proactive measures to promote civility are so critical. This is not being nice for the sake of being nice. But instead, it is an absolutely vital component of effective governance. Therefore, in this essay I will discuss civility and its importance to school boards and districts. I will address the deleterious effects of board incivility. More importantly, I hope to present no-nonsense methods to cultivate civility. It is my sincere desire that others will learn from my experiences, and this time I want to do better!
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Gregory J. Rolen, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLPMr. Rolen may be contacted at
grolen@hbblaw.com
MTA’S New Debarment Powers Pose an Existential Risk
July 15, 2019 —
Steven M. Charney, Gregory H. Chertoff & Paul Monte - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.The normal project and contractual risks faced by contractors, consultants and suppliers to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are considerable. A new law and regulations mandating that the MTA debar contractors, consultants and suppliers for unexcused schedule and cost overruns creates a new and unfair existential risk.
The new law, Public Authorities Law Section 1279-h, slipped into the New York State budget bill and passed without public comment, was enacted on April 12, 2019. Implementing regulations were issued on June 5, 2019, and mandate that the MTA debar contractors (defined to include consultants, vendors and suppliers) if they: (1) fail to achieve substantial completion of their contractual obligations within 10% of the adjusted contract time; or (2) present claims for additional compensation that are denied in an amount that exceeds the total adjusted contract amount by 10% or more.[1]
To say that your business and your livelihood are at risk is not an overstatement. The MTA umbrella includes the New York City Transit Authority, MTA Capital Construction, Bridges & Tunnels, Long Island Railroad and Metro North, among others. A debarment by one of these authorities will lead to a debarment by all of them, and then to a debarment by all New York State agencies and authorities,[2] and possibly debarment across state lines. Public and major private owners, as part of their RFP and procurement processes, routinely inquire regarding a bidding contractor’s debarment history.
The risk is to new contracts and, because the MTA has decided to give retroactive effect to the law and regulations, to contracts that are already ongoing (even though these risks could not have been considered, priced or agreed to by contractors or their sureties).
Reprinted courtesy of Peckar & Abramson, P.C. attorneys
Steven M. Charney,
Gregory H. Chertoff and
Paul Monte
Mr. Charney may be contacted at scharney@pecklaw.com
Mr. Chertoff may be contacted at gchertoff@pecklaw.com
Mr. Monte may be contacted at pmonte@pecklaw.com
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Consumer Protections for California Residential Solar Energy Systems
September 25, 2018 —
Robert A. James & Alexandra Brandt - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate BlogIt was already the case that in order to offer to install California residential solar energy systems, a contractor must be licensed by the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) and must hold an appropriate specialty classification. Under AB 1070 enacted late last year (Chapter 662, Statutes of 2017), special consumer protections are being deployed for the benefit of homeowners. Those protections are steadily rolling out.
Step one is the requirement of new Business & Professions Code (B&P Code) Section 7169 that, as of January 1, 2019, a disclosure document must be provided to consumers prior to sale and included on page 1 of the sale contract. The initial version of this document, which was developed by the CSLB and endorsed on August 23, 2018 by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), is available here. The disclosure requirement doesn’t apply to systems included in new home construction.
Reprinted courtesy of
Robert A. James, Pillsbury and
Alexandra Brandt, Pillsbury
Mr. James may be contacted at rob.james@pillsburylaw.com
Ms. Brandt may be contacted at alexandra.brandt@pillsburylaw.com
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