Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

As the Term Winds Down, Several Important Regulatory Cases Await the U.S. Supreme Court

September 03, 2019 — Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel
The Supreme Court will be deciding some very important regulatory law cases in the new few weeks as the term winds down. CERCLA Circled Last week, the Court granted a petition to review a significant CERCLA case, Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian, et al., decided by the Supreme Court of Montana on state law grounds. This case involves state litigation which could result in a cleanup whose scope is allegedly inconsistent with an ongoing and expensive federal CERCLA cleanup at the Anaconda Smelter site. CERCLA basically provides that no one may challenge an ongoing Superfund cleanup, yet this state common law proceeding seeking a cleanup of the plaintiff’s homes and properties arguably threatens the EPA-approved cleanup remedy. ARCO filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court, which the Court has now granted despite the Solicitor General’s brief which argued that the Court should wait to see the results of the Montana trial. (It is unusual for the Court to reject the advice of the Solicitor General.) Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury
Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com

Pending Sales of Existing Homes in U.S. Decline for Eighth Month

March 31, 2014 — Shobhana Chandra – Bloomberg
Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in February for an eighth straight month, a sign of further weakness in the industry. The index of pending home sales decreased 0.8 percent after a 0.2 percent drop the prior month that was previously reported as a gain, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 39 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.2 percent rise. Colder-than-normal weather probably played a role in discouraging prospective buyers faced with rising mortgage rates, higher prices and limited supply of cheaper properties. At the same time, the Realtors group said buyer traffic is stabilizing, which may help spur demand as temperatures warm. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Shobhana Chandra, Bloomberg
Ms. Chandra may be contacted at schandra1@bloomberg.net

Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Rise to One-Year High

October 22, 2014 — Michelle Jamrisko – Bloomberg
Sales of previously owned homes climbed in September to the highest level in a year, pointing to growing confidence in the U.S. economy as employment firms. Purchases advanced 2.4 percent to a 5.17 million annual rate, the National Association of Realtors reported today in Washington. Demand was up 1.9 percent compared with the same month last year before adjusting for seasonal patterns. Americans are returning to the real-estate market as employers have added 2 million workers to payrolls so far this year. Sales stand to get an additional boost in the final months of 2014 as the drop in mortgage rates caused by slowing growth in Europe and emerging nations makes properties more affordable for first-time buyers. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michelle Jamrisko, Bloomberg
Ms. Jamrisko may be contacted at mjamrisko@bloomberg.net

BWBO Celebrating Attorney Award and Two New Partners

July 14, 2016 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Congratulations is due to Nicole Whyte of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara LLP (BWBO) for being recognized as one of America’s Top 100 Attorneys by America’s Top 100, which identifies the top 100 attorneys in each state. In an email release, the firm stated, “We are pleased to celebrate this lifetime achievement and it is an honor to have Ms. Whyte listed alongside her esteemed peers.” Furthermore, BWBO announced that two of their attorneys have been promoted to partner: Alex Giannetto and Benjamin Price. “Mr. Giannetto believes that hard work, dedication, caring about clients and work product, and surrounding himself with good people, has helped him become successful in his profession,” as stated in an email release. “To be successful you have to surround yourself with successful people,” Mr. Price stated. “A combination of humility, confidence, and hard work is also important.” Read the court decision
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Parking Garage Collapse May Be Due to Construction Defect

November 07, 2012 — CDJ STAFF
A parking garage under construction at the Doral campus of Miami Dade College collapsed on October 9. Experts state that the collapse may have been due to errors in the construction process, either in the fabrication of the pre-cast components or in their assembly. The Bradenton Herald quotes Mark Santos, a structural engineer, who “would look at erection procedures – that’s probably the one question to ask first.” During the failure, floors separated from the south wall of the structure. The contractor responsible for the garage, Ajax Building Corp, said there was “no indication of any potential cause.” Read the court decision
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The G2G Mid-Year Roundup (2022)

July 03, 2022 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Our mid-year roundup highlights the top-read Gravel2Gavel posts from 2022 so far. Our authors provided deep industry insights and summarized hot topics that addressed various legal implications and disruptions that affected the market, ranging from topics like investing in real estate metaverse to the clean hydrogen transition.

Do Municipal Gas Bans Slow the Clean Hydrogen Transition in Real Estate? by Sidney L. Fowler, Robert G. Howard and Emily Huang. The authors discuss the potential of clean hydrogen and how it will play a significant role in the energy transition by serving as a carbon-free form of energy storage and heat production.
NFT Use Cases in Real Estate by Megan L. Jones and David W. Wright. The authors discuss how entrepreneurs are searching for new industries to disrupt utilizing the advantages offered by NFTs and blockchain more generally, with many turning their heads towards real estate.

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

Certificate of Merit to Sue Architects or Engineers Bill Proposed

May 03, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

North Carolina may become the twelfth state to require a Certificate of Merit to sue an architect or engineer. If North Carolina Senate Bill 435 (SB435) passes, then plaintiffs when filing a complaint will need to also attach an affidavit of a third-party licensed professional engineer or architect stating that the case has merit.

SB435 is a short two pages in its current form. The bill states that the “third-party licensed professional engineer or licensed architect shall (i) be competent to testify and hold the same professional license and practice in the same area of practice as the defendant design professional and (ii) offer testimony based upon knowledge, skill, experience, education, training, and practice. The affidavit shall specifically state for each theory of recovery for which damages are sought, the negligence, if any, or other action, error, or omission of the design professional in providing the professional service, including any error or omission in providing advice, judgment, opinion, or a similar professional skill claimed to exist and the factual basis for each such claim. The third-party licensed professional engineer or licensed architect shall be licensed in this State and actively engaged in the practice of engineering or architecture respectively.”

A few of the amendments allude to disciplining design professionals who certify civil actions that are without merit. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Judiciary I.

While North Carolina is considering enacting a Certificate of Merit law, eleven other states already require one, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas. Christopher D. Montez, a partner with Thomas, Feldman & Wilshusen, LLP, has written a useful summary for each state’s certificate of merit scheme.

Read the text of SB435

Track the progress of SB435

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Homebuilders Leading U.S. Consumer Stocks: EcoPulse

February 14, 2014 — Anna-Louise Jackson and Anthony Feld – Bloomberg
Shares of U.S. homebuilders are leading consumer discretionary stocks as the new home market is poised to rebound faster than other cyclical purchases this year. The Standard & Poor’s Supercomposite Homebuilding Index -- made up of Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL), NVR Inc. and nine others -- has risen 20 percent since Nov. 11. The S&P 500 GICS Consumer Discretionary Sector Index -- which includes Lennar Corp. (LEN), PulteGroup Inc. (PHM), D.R. Horton Inc. and 81 other companies such as Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Cos. -- is up 1.9 percent during the same period. This follows about 10 months when homebuilders lagged behind by 45 percentage points. Shares of companies that construct new residences are a source of relative strength in what’s proven to be a “more difficult market” this year, as the S&P 500 slid almost 6 percent in less than three weeks, said Michael Shaoul, chairman and chief executive officer of Marketfield Asset Management LLC in New York, which has more than $20 billion in assets. The recent rally in homebuilders suggests “a very important transition of leadership within the consumer discretionary sector” is underway, benefiting this segment of the broader cyclical group, he said. Ms. Jackson may be contacted at ajackson36@bloomberg.net; Mr. Feld may be contacted at afeld2@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anna-Louise Jackson and Anthony Feld, Bloomberg

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