Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

At Long Last, the Colorado Legislature Gets Serious About Construction Defect Reform – In a Constructive Way

February 12, 2024 — David McLain - Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
On February 5th, Senators Zenzinger and Coleman, along with Representative Bird, introduced Senate Bill 24-106 into the Colorado Legislature. The bill has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Local Government and Housing. What follows are the various portions of the bill I believe to be the most impactful, as described in the bill summary, along with my commentary thereon: Sections 3 and 6 – A True Right to Repair Sections 3 and 6 create a right for a construction professional to remedy a claim made against the construction professional by doing remedial work or hiring another construction professional to perform the work. The following applies to the remedy:

The construction professional must notify the claimant and diligently make sure the remedial work is performed; and
Upon completion, the claimant is deemed to have settled and released the claim, and the claimant is limited to claims regarding improper performance of the remedial work.

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Reprinted courtesy of David McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
Mr. McLain may be contacted at mclain@hhmrlaw.com

FEMA Administrator Slams Failures to Prepare, Evacuate Before Storms

October 23, 2018 — Christopher Flavelle - Bloomberg
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long angrily criticized the failure of citizens to heed evacuation warnings and leaders to better prepare for natural disasters such as Hurricane Michael. "It's frustrating to us because we repeat this same cycle over and over again," Long said during a press briefing Friday at FEMA headquarters in Washington. "If you want to live in these areas, you've got to do it in a more resilient fashion." Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Christopher Flavelle, Bloomberg

The Creation of San Fransokyo

June 17, 2015 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
Some of the most awe inspiring buildings and urban environments started off on paper and, these days, on computer screens. Think Babylon or even Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s Washington, D.C.. Most of those structures and cityscapes were designed for human habitation, but not all. Some were designed purely for our imaginations, like Minecraft, which those of you with young ones might be familiar with. Another more recent example though is Big Hero 6, about a science-whiz named Hiro (pronounced “hero,” get it) who journeys from boyhood to manhood and saves the world along the way with his robot pal Baymax. The movie is set in foreign-yet-familiar “San Fransokyo.” 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

Meet the Forum's Neutrals: TOM DUNN

October 21, 2024 — Marissa L. Downs - The Dispute Resolver
Company: Pierce Atwood LLP Office Location: Boston, MA Licensed in: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, California (inactive) Email: rtdunn@pierceatwood.com Website: https://www.pierceatwood.com/people/r-thomas-dunn Law School: McGeorge School of Law (2004 JD) Types of ADR services offered: Arbitration Affiliated ADR organizations: American Arbitration Association Geographic area served: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New England Q: Describe the path you took to becoming an ADR neutral. A: Arbitration and alternative forms to avoid and resolve disputes has interested me since law school. Serving as an arbitrator is rewarding both as a neutral helping people close out disputes, but also as an advocate as it reminds me about how best to communicate with the fact finder. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Marissa L. Downs, Laurie & Brennan, LLP
Ms. Downs may be contacted at mdowns@lauriebrennan.com

Learning from Production Homes of the Past

August 13, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Big Builder recaps production homes by decade, beginning with Sears Catalog Homes of the 1920s. They cover major events, original prices, intended buyers, geographic areas, designer/developers, styles/floor plans, and how they broke ground. Big Builder chose to highlight Greenbelt Row Houses for the 1930s, Levittown Tract Homes for the 1940s, as well as additional home builders for each decade through 2010. Read the court decision
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Prison Contractors Did Not Follow the Law

October 15, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Under Iowa law, nearly ninety-percent of the construction workers for the new state prison in Fort Madison should have been Iowa residents. But according to reports obtained by the Des Moines Register, about fifty percent of the workers were from other states. The law responds to a similar one in Illinois that requires that most workers on public projects must be Illinois residents. Many of the out-of-state employees live on the other side of the Mississippi River and, according to Ryan Drew of the Southeast Iowa Building and Construction Trades Council, are part of a broader Illinois-Iowa community, shopping at Iowa retailers. Read the court decision
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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (11/8/23) – New Handling of Homelessness, Decline in Investments into ESG Funds, and Shrinking of a Homebuyer’s Dollar

December 11, 2023 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Our latest roundup includes two large flood control projects in New Jersey, how residential REITs could benefit from higher interest rates, how the downfall of WeWork could cause expansive collateral damage, and more!

The Federal Reserve said the possibility of large losses in the $24 trillion U.S. commercial real estate market poses a top risk to financial stability. (Jim Tyson, CFO Dive)
According to proptech firm MRI Software, apartment leasing patterns are “reverting to pre-pandemic patterns and becoming more predictable.” (Leslie Shaver, Multifamily Dive)
Los Angeles has developed a new way to handle homelessness—real estate agents for those without a home. (Jennifer Ludden, NPR)

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

Inspired by Filipino Design, an Apartment Building Looks Homeward

May 22, 2023 — Sarah Holder - Bloomberg
Austerity and efficiency aren’t the first words that come to mind when you see the angled sawtooth bays of Tahanan Supportive Housing, or catch a glimpse of a rainbow through its lobby. But the dramatic exterior and joyful interior of this San Francisco building are both products of their constraints. When David Baker Architects was approached to design the six-story development, the goal was aggressive: Produce 145 units of permanent supportive housing at under $400,000 a unit, and have the operation up and running in less than three years. The firm accepted the challenge, and by 2022, Tanahan was fully leased to residents, all of whom are San Franciscans who have struggled with chronic homelessness. In a city where affordable units typically cost $600,000 to $700,000 each to construct, keeping in budget and meeting the deadline meant turning to the modular building company Factory OS. It also meant keeping variation at a minimum. The studios are identical, like Lego blocks; instead of being mirrored across a hallway, they’re just rotated 180 degrees. But nothing else about the building feels utilitarian. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Sarah Holder, Bloomberg

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