Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

The Choice Is Yours – Or Is It? Anti-Choice-of-Laws Statutes Applicable to Construction Contracts

October 03, 2022 — Tiffany Raush & Tanya McGill - ConsensusDocs
During contract negotiations and review, the parties make choices about what risks they are willing to accept and at what cost. But one often overlooked choice—the choice of law applicable to the contract—can undermine carefully negotiated construction contracts and expose contractors to risks they never intended to accept. Choice-of-law provisions are standard provisions in most contracts. These provisions allow the parties to the contract to decide which state’s laws will apply to their contract. Often, choice-of-law in the construction contract is the law of the state where the project is located and there will be no issue. But, if the project is located in an unfamiliar, the owner or prime contractor may prefer the laws of the state where the owner or prime contractor is primarily located over the laws of the state where the project is located. Generally, most states will enforce the parties’ choice of law in a contract. But that may not be the case for construction contracts. States like Texas, California, New York, Florida, Louisiana, and others may prohibit parties from agreeing to the application of another state’s law for construction projects in their states. Reprinted courtesy of Tiffany Raush, Jones Walker LLP (ConsensusDocs) and Tanya McGill, University of Mississippi School of Law Student, 2023 Graduate (ConsensusDocs) Ms. Raush may be contacted at traush@joneswalker.com Read the court decision
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Women in Construction Aren’t Silent Anymore. They Are Using TikTok to Battle Discrimination

March 06, 2022 — Workwear Guru
How does it feel to be a woman working in a male-dominated industry? It means an everyday fight on gender bias, discrimination, pay inequality, and a bunch of mansplaining. Though the construction industry progressed– over 1.2 million women work in construction, up from 619,000 in 1985–women continue to be a minority. Among the women working in the industry, almost 9 out of 10 women have an office role, while only 2.5% are tradespeople. The situation looks grimmer for women in higher positions as only 16% hold executive roles, and only 2% are CEOs. The issue becomes troublesome considering that 45% of women indicated that the lack of women role models working in senior positions halted advancement in their careers. Gender discrimination was always prevalent in the construction industry, though it shows higher in today’s statistics. In 2020, the annual study of women in construction showed 72% of women in construction face discrimination, up from 66% in 2005. The increase doesn’t mean there is an increase in workplace discrimination; instead, it shows women are raising their voices for the issue. Today, women are using social media to show the prejudice they confront every day, inspire each other to speak up, and showcase their competencies within the industry. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Workwear Guru

BWB&O Partners are Recognized as 2022 AV Preeminent Attorneys by Martindale-Hubbell!

December 06, 2021 — Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Congratulations to BWB&O Partners on their recognition in Martindale-Hubbell® as AV Preeminent attorneys. This honor is given to attorneys who are ranked at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal expertise, communication skills, and ethical standards by their peers. Newport Beach Partner, Nicole Whyte Newport Beach Partner, Keith Bremer Newport Beach Partner, John Toohey Newport Beach Partner, Jeremy Johnson Woodland Hills Partner, John O'Meara Woodland Hills Partner, Patrick Au Arizona Partner, John Belanger Las Vegas Partner, Peter Brown Las Vegas Partner, Lucian Greco Las Vegas Partner, Anthony Garasi San Diego Partner, Vik Nagpal San Diego Partner, Alexander Giannetto Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Dolores Montoya, Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

Tariffs, Supply Snarls Spur Search for Factories Closer to U.S.

February 21, 2022 — Laura Curtis - Bloomberg
Small businesses looking for a factory that can make some stylish orthopedic shoes, chairs or construction materials may have an easier time finding a closer-to-home alternative to waiting for the supply-chain snarl in the Pacific Ocean to work itself out. Zipfox, an online platform that links businesses up with factories in Mexico, launched this week, enabling near-shoring of production and the chance to get goods into the U.S. more quickly than if businesses were sourcing from manufacturing hubs in China. “People are feeling the pain from sourcing from China right now but they aren’t really aware of the manufacturing capability and capacity that Mexico already has,” Zipfox founder Raine Mahdi said Tuesday. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Laura Curtis, Bloomberg

New York's De Blasio Unveils $41 Billion Plan for Affordable Housing

May 07, 2014 — Henry Goldman – Bloomberg
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio presented plans to build and preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing in the next decade by increasing rent protections for the poor and requiring developers to include below-market apartments in newly zoned areas. The $41.1 billion program, paid for with city, state, federal and private funds, would focus 60 percent on preservation and 40 percent on new construction. About $8.2 billion of the cost would be borne by the city, according to a 116-page report detailing the plan, which de Blasio called the “largest, fastest” affordable-housing program ever attempted at the local level. De Blasio, 52, a self-described progressive and the city’s first Democratic mayor in 20 years, took office in January after describing income inequality as the most serious issue facing the most populous U.S. city. He turned his attention to housing today after pushing the state legislature in March to grant the city $300 million to institute universal all-day pre-kindergarten. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Henry Goldman, Bloomberg
Mr. Goldman may be contacted at hgoldman@bloomberg.net

Free Texas MCLE Seminar at BHA Houston June 13th

May 29, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
There are just two weeks remaining to sign up for Bert L. Howe & Associate’s next Texas MCLE seminar, THE RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION PROCESS & CONSTRUCTION DEFECT LITIGATION. This activity will be presented on Friday, June 13th at noon, at BHA’s Houston offices, located at: 800 Town & Country Blvd. Suite 300 Houston, TX 77024 There is no cost for attendance at this seminar and lunch will be provided. This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 1.0 credit hours, of which 0.0 credit hours will apply to legal ethics/professional responsibility credit. The seminar will be presented by Don MacGregor, general contractor and project manager. Water intrusion through doors, windows and roofing systems, as well as soil and foundation-related movement, and the resultant damage associated therewith, are the triggering effects for the vast majority of homeowner complaints today and serve as the basis for most residential construction defect litigation. The graphic and animation-supported workshop/lecture activity will focus on the residential construction process from site preparation through occupancy, an examination of associated damages most often encountered when investigating construction defect claims, and the inter-relationships between the developer, general contractor, sub trades and design professionals. Typical plaintiff homeowner/HOA expert allegations will be examined in connection with those building components most frequently associated with construction defect and claims litigation. The workshop will examine: *Typical construction materials, and terminology associated with residential construction *The installation process and sequencing of major construction elements, including interrelationship with other building assemblies *The parties (subcontractors) typically associated with major construction assemblies and components *An analysis of exposure/allocation to responsible parties. Attendance at THE RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION PROCESS & CONSTRUCTION DEFECT LITIGATION seminar will provide the attendee with: *A greater understanding of the terms and conditions encountered when dealing with common construction defect issues *A greater understanding of contractual scopes of work encountered when reviewing construction contract documents *The ability to identify, both quickly and accurately, potentially responsible parties *An understanding of damages most often associated with construction defects, as well as a greater ability to identify conditions triggering coverage Course #: 901290467 / Sponsor #: 14152. To register for the event, please email Don MacGregor at dmac@berthowe.com. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Don at (800) 482-1822 (office) or (714) 713-4956 (cell). Read the court decision
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Coverage Under Builder's Risk Policy Properly Excluded for Damage to Existing Structure Only

April 05, 2017 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the District Court's determination that there was no coverage under the builder's risk policy. Gerald H. Phipps, Inc. v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of Am., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 2764 (10th Cir. Feb. 16, 2017). GH Phipps Construction Company (GHP) was hired to renovate and expand the University of Denver's library. GHP was completing installation of a new roof on the library when water from melting snow leaked into the building. The water damaged existing drywall and insulation in the stairwells and elevator shafts that GHP planned to preserve and update. Before the snow melt mishap, GHP had completed some preliminary work in the damaged areas to designate locations for future installation of mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems. But GHP had not yet installed any new materials, updated any lighting fixtures, or patched and painted any existing drywall in the damaged areas. 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

Steel-Fiber Concrete Link Beams Perform Well in Tests

December 21, 2016 — Nadine M. Post – Engineering News-Record
A recent series of dynamic tests demonstrates that there are several types and doses of steel-fiber reinforcement that can be used in performance-based seismic design of coupling beams—headers that link openings in concrete shear walls—to reduce rebar congestion. The tests, performed at the University of Wisconsin, are called “a step in the right direction” by the structural engineer who pioneered the use of SFR concrete. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Nadine M. Post, Engineering News-Record
Ms. Post may be contacted at postn@enr.com

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