Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

RCW 82.32.655 Tax Avoidance Statute/Speculative Building

August 29, 2018 — Scott R. Sleight - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC Blog
With land prices increasing, developers are looking for opportunities to save on development costs, including cost saving tax strategies. Thus, we have seen increasing interest in development strategies that offer tax savings. One strategy is speculative building: Owners of property who self-perform construction avoid sales tax and B&O tax on the self-performed scope. See Blog Article Posted April 9, 2013, titled What Is A Speculative Builder? In addition, the Department of Revenue has provided an explanation of speculative building. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Scott R. Sleight, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Mr. Sleight may be contacted at scott.sleight@acslawyers.com

Rio Olympic Infrastructure Costs of $2.3 Billion Are Set to Rise

January 31, 2014 — Tariq Panja and David Biller – Bloomberg
Brazilian authorities announced 5.6 billion reais ($2.3 billion) will be spent on infrastructure directly related to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and those costs will rise as projects are added. Yesterday’s announcement comes months behind schedule, and after pressure on public bodies to reveal exactly how much it will cost for Rio to be the first South American city to host the quadrennial showpiece. Delays and cost overruns to several projects related to this year’s soccer World Cup have sharpened the focus on the Olympics. “We are committed to being on schedule,” Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo said at a press conference in Rio to announce the spending plans. “It is the first time we have a consortium of three levels of government. It is in an effort to ensure the success and execution of all the commitments to deliver the Olympics in Rio in 2016.” Mr. Panja may be contacted at tpanja@bloomberg.net and Mr. Biller may be contacted at dbiller1@bloomberg.net. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tariq Panja and David Biller, Bloomberg

Transportation Officials Make the Best of a Bumpy 2020

January 18, 2021 — Jim Parsons & Aileen Cho - Engineering News-Record
The year 2020 provided a bumpy budgetary ride for all modes of transportation, and some industry insiders don’t expect airport and transit ridership to return to pre-pandemic levels for years. Agencies are taking lessons learned, coupled with hopes for the new Biden administration, to carry on as best they can. Reprinted courtesy of Jim Parsons, Engineering News-Record and Aileen Cho, Engineering News-Record Ms. Cho may be contacted at choa@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Contractor Sentenced to 7 Years for “Hail Damage” Fraud

November 13, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The hailstorm might have spared homes in New Jersey, but the contractor didn’t. Marcin Gradziel entered a guilty plea when he was accused of filing fraudulent insurance claims for homes in New Jersey. In order to fool the inspectors from the insurance agency, after homeowners agreed to their pitch, Mr. Gradziel would damage their homes. After admitting this in court, Mr. Gradziel has now been sentenced to seven years in prison. His former employers, Precision Building, has gone out of business after paying restitution to the defrauded insurers. Read the court decision
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Wendel Rosen’s Construction Practice Group Welcomes Quinlan Tom

January 06, 2016 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
There’s been more cheer than usual at Wendel Rosen’s Construction Practice Group this holiday season. Earlier this month, Quinlan Tom, a construction and business attorney, joined us from McInerney & Dillon, a venerable and well-respected construction boutique firm (we know a lot of folks there) with local roots like us in Oakland, California. We’ve all known Quinlan for a while, so when he decided to join our band of merry legal practitioners, we were quite thrilled. Being lawyers though, and better at asking than answering questions, we decided to pose a few questions to Quinlan: Q. So, you’ve just been sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, under penalty of perjury. So, tell us about your practice. A. Let me just start with it’s quite an honor to appear in your blog; I’ve been a reader for a while (in secret of course before I got to Wendel Rosen). I’m also excited to join you and the other members of Wendel Rosen’s Construction Practice Group; as you mention, I’ve known each of you professionally for quite some time and respect each of you tremendously. I started as a construction litigator right out of law school. I completed three years of mechanical engineering at UC Davis and put that on my resume when I was looking for a job after law school. (In addition, my dad retired after 40 years in the trenches as a union electrician). McInerney & Dillon (“M&D”) and a couple of other firms found that interesting and I ended up starting with M&D. I did find that my engineering studies helped with my acclimation to construction disputes. While I never pretend to be an engineer, it has provided me with a foundation of how the construction process works and how the projects are designed. 26 years later, I continue to enjoy counseling my clients in their construction disputes/issues and still find each construction project I am involved with fascinating. I have tried, arbitrated and litigated cases for 26 years, from the United States District Court to the California Superior Court and the California Office of Administrative Hearings. I have argued cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the California Court of Appeal. I counsel my clients into hopefully making the best business decisions available melding the knowledge I have gleaned from my litigation experience with their financial and personal goals. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

How Well Do You Know the 2012 IECC Code?

January 31, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The online publication Big Builder reports that “only a handful of states have implemented the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC),” according to the International Code Council. However, because of “the aggressive 2015 IECC” approaching, they “anticipate wider implementation of the 2012 IECC to snowball.” Big Builder challenges their readers to test their knowledge of “2012 IECC mandates” by taking their quiz. Read the court decision
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Judge Halts Sale of Brazilian Plywood

June 06, 2022 — Beverley BevenFlorez – CDJ Staff
A permanent injunction was issued by Judge Roy Altman in a Ft. Lauderdale federal court on May 24th that requires the revocation of all PS 1 certificates that were issued by PFS-TECO to more than a dozen Brazilian mills that produced structural plywood for the U.S. market, reported Business Wire. “This case highlights how a few bad actors profited by essentially looking the other way while substandard, and potentially dangerous plywood was imported into the U.S. and used to build homes and businesses,” Michael Haglund, counsel representing the U.S. Structural Plywood Integrity Coalition, of Haglund Kelley, LLP, told Business Wire. Building codes throughout the U.S. require the use of PS 1 structural plywood in construction. "If product standards are not being met, there can be serious implications for all homes constructed using those substandard wood panel products," Tyler Freres, VP of Sales for Freres Engineered Wood, told CDJ. "Contractors and homeowners should be able to trust that U.S. certification agencies are doing their due diligence to accurately inspect panels, ensuring consumers' health and safety." The U.S. Structural Plywood Integrity Coalition, including nine family-owned U.S. plywood manufacturers, alleged that PFS-TECO falsely certified that plywood from Brazil met U.S. structural integrity requirements. This substandard plywood has been used throughout the U.S. In particular, it was used during the hurricane reconstruction efforts in Florida and Puerto Rico due to its cheaper price. In 2021, Brazilian plywood made up 11% of the U.S. supply with nearly 1.2 billion square feet sold. Read the court decision
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“You’re Out of Here!” -- CERCLA (Superfund) Federal Preemption of State Environmental Claims in State Courts

October 20, 2016 — Joshua J. Anderson & John E. Van Vlear – Newmeyer & Dillion LLP
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C § 9601 et seq. (“CERCLA”), commonly referred to as “Superfund,” is a federal statute that provides funding and cost-recovery to address our nation’s worst hazardous-waste sites. While CERCLA generally vests United States District Courts with exclusive original jurisdiction over all related controversies, section 113(h) of the Act delays such jurisdiction while the United States Environmental Protection Agency supervises or undertakes environmental response action plans. What impact does this delayed federal jurisdiction have on state law claims brought in state courts? Short answer: “You’re out of here!” Litigants are precluded from bringing claims in state court that “challenge” environmental response actions under CERCLA during the pendency of those actions. Reprinted courtesy of Joshua J. Anderson, Newmeyer & Dillion LLP and John E. Van Vlear, Newmeyer & Dillion LLP Mr. Anderson may be contacted at joshua.anderson@ndlf.com Mr. Van Vlear may be contacted at john.vanvlear@ndlf.com Read the court decision
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SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES