Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Beyond the Disneyland Resort: Museums

May 03, 2018 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
North Orange County has a variety of interesting museums from intimate to extravagant to peruse. Bowers Museum, located in Santa Ana, has several special exhibitions on display around WCC Seminar: Endurance: The Antarctic Legacy Of Sir Ernest Shackleton And Frank Hurley, American Visionary: John F. Kennedy’s Life And Times, Gemstone Carvings: The Masterworks Of Harold Van Pelt, And First Americans: Tribal Art From North America. Muzeo, a Museum and Cultural Center located in Anaheim, will be showcasing the Trash Artist Challenge Expo & Exhibition from May 12th -27th, and also has on permanent display Anaheim: A Walk through Local History. Star Wars and Disney fans will want to make their way to the Hilbert Museum of California Art. In the city of Orange, this museum is located at Chapman University. Two of their many exhibitions include Magical Visions: The Enchanted Worlds Of Eyvind Earle (Disney’s Sleeping Beauty designer) and A New Hope: The Star Wars Art of Robert Bailey. Learn about American history at the Richard Nixon Library, located in nearby Yorba Linda. Read the court decision
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Nevada Construction Defect Lawyers Dead in Possible Suicides

March 28, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

A number of news sources have reported on the recent death of Nevada construction defect attorney, Nancy Quon. Ms. Quon was implicated in a recent scandal in which a group conspired to control homeowner associations in order to divert construction defect lawsuits to the members of the conspiracy.

Ms. Quon was found dead in her bathtub. The details are still under investigations. She and her boyfriend were accused of a failed arson/suicide scheme in 2010. Ms. Quon survived an attempt to burn down her home. Subsequently, her boyfriend obtained some gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GBH) for her, as part of another failed suicide attempt.

Subsequent to Ms. Quon’s death, David Amesbury was found in California dead by hanging. Mr. Amesbury took a plea deal in the case, and he had admitted his role in providing legal and construction contracts to firms in the conspiracy. He was accused of fixing HOA elections.

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Zetlin & De Chiara Ranked in the Top Tier for Construction Law by Legal 500 USA

June 21, 2021 — Zetlin & De Chiara LLP
Zetlin & De Chiara was named a Band 1 Construction Law firm in the United States by the Legal 500 US in its annual guide. Described as a "boutique construction law firm with a deep bench and understanding of how a construction project is built and how to address disputes when they happen," Zetlin & De Chiara is routinely involved in projects across the US and internationally. Legal 500 selected Michael Zetlin, Michael De Chiara and Michael Vardaro to the Leading Lawyers list. Michael De Chiara was praised as an "expert in the field." Michael Zetlin was lauded for his representation of national and multi-national construction companies as well as premier owners, developers and contractors. Other members of the "very pragmatic" team who were recognized were Tara Mulrooney and Jim Terry. The Legal 500 US 2021 guide is a highly regarded legal directory which annually ranks law firms and legal professionals. It highlights legal teams who are providing the most cutting edge and innovative advice to corporate counsel. Rankings are based on feedback from clients worldwide, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers. About Zetlin & De Chiara: Zetlin & De Chiara LLP provides sophisticated legal and business counsel and advice to members of the construction community across the country including real estate owners and developers, design professionals, construction managers and contractors, and financial institutions. Read the court decision
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3D Printing: A New Era in Concrete Construction

April 11, 2022 — Zoey Zhao - Construction Executive
The construction of buildings using concrete has been around since the time of the Romans. In all those centuries, concrete structures have been built using essentially the same method: forms, reinforcement, mixing, pouring, setting, repeat. The process is costly and time-consuming. The construction of the forms alone demands dozens of workers and requires a substantial amount of lumber, keeping labor and materials costs high. Builders might save some time using prefabricated concrete blocks, but such materials are not appropriate for every construction project and carry their own expenses. For the first time in history, builders have an alternative to traditional concrete construction methods that are more cost-effective, less expensive, more environmentally friendly and allow for a wide range of possible construction projects. Three-dimensional concrete printing for construction has emerged in the building field as a viable and efficient alternative. Reprinted courtesy of Zoey Zhao, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Ms. Zhao may be contacted at zoey@aictbuild.com

As Single-Family Homes Get Larger, Lots Get Smaller

September 03, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Eye on Housing demonstrated that though the “single-family homes have been generally getting larger,” the average lot size has decreased over the years. For instance, from 1992-1995, “[t]he median lot size of a new single-family detached home sold was an even 10,000 square feet.” However, by 2004, lot size had decreased to 8,833 square feet. It bounced up to 9,000 and then came down again. In 2013, median lot size was 8,720 square feet. Read the court decision
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New Jersey Firm’s Fee Action Tossed for not Filing Substitution of Counsel

August 13, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Even though their client had terminated their services by email, a “New Jersey appeals court has tossed out a firm’s fee action” finding that the firm had “remained counsel of record because it did not file a substitution of counsel until almost a year later,” the New Jersey Law Journal reported. In Arturi, D’Argenio, Guagliardi & Meliti v. Sadej, Jesse and Carla Sadej had retained the firm, Arturi, D’Argenio, Guagliardi & Meliti, “to defend them in the underlying land use litigation brought in 2002 by the borough of Seaside Park, N.J.” The case had been dismissed, but was reinstated in 2009 by an appeals court. At that time, Arturi D’Argenio told the Sadejs that they would need to sign a new retainer agreement in order to continue representation. On July 18, 2010, the Sadejs emailed the firm stating that they were “officially terminated,” according to the opinion as quoted by the New Jersey Law Journal. The firm sued the Sadejs “for about $100,000 in fees it was allegedly owed from the Seaside Park case and other matters on behalf of Jesse Sadej.” However, a substitution of attorney wasn’t filed until months later. The case went to the appeals court, which stated that the firm should have withdrawn immediately after receiving the email notification from their client: “Because it failed to do so, it remained counsel of record and therefore was precluded from initiating the collection action at that point,” the judges said, as quoted by the New Jersey Law Journal. Read the court decision
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Choice of Law Provisions in Construction Contracts

October 07, 2024 — Victoria Davies - ConsensusDocs
If you have used a ConsensusDocs® construction agreement or another industry association construction agreement for one of your projects, you are accustomed to seeing the laws of the state where the construction project is located as the governing law. There are good reasons for the laws of the state where the project is located to govern the construction agreement for the project. Even if not headquartered in the state, the parties have a presence there by virtue of their participation in the project in the state. Personnel and records that may be needed to resolve a claim may be located in the state. If there are experts that need to be engaged, they will likely need to visit the site. These reasons of efficiency and convenience, alone, may justify the parties’ decision to select the project state’s laws to govern their construction contract. However, there is also the policy interest of the project state, whose laws may even mandate that the project state’s laws govern construction contracts for in-state projects and that the parties resolve their disputes in state as well. Several states have laws that require construction disputes for projects in the state to be resolved under its laws and/or litigated or arbitrated in the state. Some states require only that its laws govern and do not also require that the dispute resolution take place in the state, but some require both – that its laws govern and the disputes be resolved there. There may be different triggers as to when the statute applies. For example, in some states, the statute applies to any construction contract for a project in the state. In others, the law may only be triggered if one of the parties is domiciled in the state. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Victoria Davies, Jones Walker LLP
Ms. Davies may be contacted at vdavies@joneswalker.com

Growing Optimism Among Home Builders

June 28, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
For the first time since 2006, the number of home builders who are optimistic about home sales exceed those who are pessimistic, with 52 percent optimistic. Just last month, the builder confidence index was at 44. This eight-point jump was the largest change in more than a decade. Their confidence has increased as economists and others have been seeing signs of an improved economy. There has been an increase in demand for new homes and even though sales are below what economists would like, homebuilders are finding buyers. Read the court decision
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CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES