Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Best Practices for Installing Networks in New Buildings

August 14, 2023 — Patrick Chown - Construction Executive
A previous article, "How to Install Networks in an Old Building," discussed the various challenges of implementing networking infrastructure in older spaces. The building layout, age of the building and use cases were the major challenges involved. New buildings provide an opportunity to incorporate state-of-the-art networking infrastructure from the ground up. Careful planning and foresight are essential to ensure optimal network performance and avoid future issues. In new buildings, including corporate offices, multifamily residential complexes, hospitals, educational institutions and retail spaces, the potential use cases and users can vary significantly. Each of these spaces comes with its unique networking requirements. Regardless of the specific network applications, there are fundamental frameworks and best practices that can be employed to build a solid network foundation. By following these guidelines and adapting them to the specific needs of your new building, you can ensure a robust and flexible network infrastructure that accommodates ever-evolving technological demands. Reprinted courtesy of Patrick Chown, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Construction Industry on the Comeback, But It Won’t Be the Same

November 20, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
“The majority of contractors have readjusted and there’s cautious optimism, but there’s a new normal in construction,” Cam Dickinson, senior vice president of the construction group of Woodruff-Sawyer. But he cautioned that “it’s not going to come back like it was in the good old days.” Some places, like the Miami or New York City areas are doing well, although New York City has the perhaps unique advantage of its market. Brian Schofeld, Crystal & Co.’s senior managing director and construction practice leader noted that for one New York City project, “the penthouse went for the full value of the gut renovation and that left the other 17 floors as a profit.” Further signs of life are that “the residential private side is going gangbusters in the Bay Area and downtown San Francisco,” according to Bret Lawrence, vice president of construction for Woodruff-Sawyer, but he notes that “it’s nothing like it was.” Read the court decision
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No Coverage for Additional Insured After Completion of Operations

March 26, 2014 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The Fifth Circuit held there was no duty to defend an additional insured for alleged negligence after completion of the project. Woodward v. Acceptance Indemn. Ins. Co., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 2569 (5th Cir. Feb. 11, 2014). Pass Marianne, L.L.C. contracted for the construction of condominiums. The general contractor was Woodward. DCM Corporation, L.L.C. was a subcontractor for the concrete work. DCM worked on the project from January to October 2006. The entire project was completed in August 2007. Pass Marianne sold the condominiums to Lemon Drop Properties in October 2007. Lemon Drop sued Pass Marianne and Woodward a year after purchasing the condominium. Pass Marianne filed a cross-claim against Woodward alleging faulty construction and damage arising out of the construction. The claims were arbitrated. A significant issue in the arbitration was the fault of the concrete subcontractor, DCM. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

San Francisco International Airport Reaches New Heights in Sustainable Project Delivery

November 21, 2022 — Aileen Cho - Engineering News-Record
Ten years ago, Geoff Neumayr decided he was tired of “doing design and construction by combat.” San Francisco International Airport had completed a master plan for the complex and the front of the airport facilities doing things the traditional way. Reprinted courtesy of 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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Condo Board Goes after Insurer for Construction Defect Settlement

February 07, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The City Bella on Lyndale homeowners association settled with the high rise's developer and builder for $1.9 million over construction defects. The defects included structural deterioration in the project's pool area, extensive air and water leaks in the windows, and structural problems in the project's underground parking garage. City Bella consists of a 15-story tower and a four-story building on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis. They settled the lawsuit in 2011, but the homeowners association is still looking to the insurers to pay up. With legal fees and interest, the total rises to $2.82 million that Travelers could be paying the association. Read the court decision
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Two-Part Series on Condominium Construction Defect Issues

May 19, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Gregory L. Shelton, construction law attorney at Horack, Talley, Pharr & Lowndes, P.A., wrote a two-part series in the Charlotte Observer about condominium construction defect issues. The first part described “common defects and their consequences,” while the second part explained “how legal time limits can prevent the association or its owners from suing the parties responsible for defective construction.” If interested in purchasing a condo unit, Shelton recommended hiring a building inspector, though he cautioned that “the inspector should be truly independent. His client should be you and not ‘the sale.’” In the second part, Shelton discussed the complexities of statutes of limitations and statutes of repose. Read the full story, Part 1... Read the full story, Part 2... Read the court decision
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Construction Litigation Roundup: “That’s Not How I Read It”

June 05, 2023 — Daniel Lund III - Lexology
A general contractor seeking to litigate with its subcontractor concerning a construction project in Indiana found itself fighting in court against assertions by the sub that arbitration of the dispute was required. The GC was already in litigation in federal court with the project owner. The GC filed a third-party demand against the sub, which was met with a motion to stay and to compel arbitration. At the crux of the sub’s argument was this clause in its subcontract: “Subcontractor agrees that the dispute resolution provisions of the Prime Contract between [GC] and Owner, if any, are incorporated by reference as part of this Subcontract so as to be binding as to disputes between Subcontractor and [GC] that involve, in whole or in part, questions of fact and/or law that are common to any dispute between [GC] and Owner or others similarly bound to such dispute resolution procedures... ." Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Lund III, Phelps
Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com

Courts Will Not Rewrite Your Post-Loss Property Insurance Obligations

June 14, 2021 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
In the preceding posting, I wrote about making sure you comply with your property insurance policy’s post-loss policy obligations. By failing to comply, you can render your policy ineffective meaning you are forfeiting otherwise valid insurance coverage, which was the situation discussed in the preceding posting. As an insured, you should never want this to occur! In another case, discussed here, the property insurance policy had a preferred contractor endorsement. This means that instead of paying the insured insurance proceeds, the insurer could perform the repairs with its preferred contractor. Typically, the insured will pay a discount on their premium for this preferred contractor endorsement. The insurer elected to move forward with the repairs based on the preferred contractor endorsement but the insured performed the repairs on his own and then sold the house. By doing this, the appellate court held the insured rendered his policy ineffective by breaching his own policy (and failing to allow this post-loss obligation to take place). The explicit terms of the policy allowed the insurer to perform the repairs instead of paying the insured insurance proceeds. The court could NOT rewrite the post-loss obligations in the policy by requiring the insurer to pay insurance proceeds when the insurer, per the preferred contractor endorsement, elected to perform the repairs. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES