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    Building Expert Builders Information
    Seattle, Washington

    Washington Builders Right To Repair Current Law Summary:

    Current Law Summary: (SB 5536) The legislature passed a contractor protection bill that reduces contractors' exposure to lawsuits to six years from 12, and gives builders seven "affirmative defenses" to counter defect complaints from homeowners. Claimant must provide notice no later than 45 days before filing action; within 21 days of notice of claim, "construction professional" must serve response; claimant must accept or reject inspection proposal or settlement offer within 30 days; within 14 days following inspection, construction pro must serve written offer to remedy/compromise/settle; claimant can reject all offers; statutes of limitations are tolled until 60 days after period of time during which filing of action is barred under section 3 of the act. This law applies to single-family dwellings and condos.


    Building Expert Contractors Licensing
    Guidelines Seattle Washington

    A license is required for plumbing, and electrical trades. Businesses must register with the Secretary of State.


    Building Expert Contractors Building Industry
    Association Directory
    MBuilders Association of King & Snohomish Counties
    Local # 4955
    335 116th Ave SE
    Bellevue, WA 98004

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of Kitsap County
    Local # 4944
    5251 Auto Ctr Way
    Bremerton, WA 98312

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of Spokane
    Local # 4966
    5813 E 4th Ave Ste 201
    Spokane, WA 99212

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of North Central
    Local # 4957
    PO Box 2065
    Wenatchee, WA 98801

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    MBuilders Association of Pierce County
    Local # 4977
    PO Box 1913 Suite 301
    Tacoma, WA 98401

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    North Peninsula Builders Association
    Local # 4927
    PO Box 748
    Port Angeles, WA 98362
    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Jefferson County Home Builders Association
    Local # 4947
    PO Box 1399
    Port Hadlock, WA 98339

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10


    Building Expert News and Information
    For Seattle Washington


    Kaboom! Illinois Applies the Anti-Subrogation Rule to Require a Landlord’s Subrogating Property Insurer to Defend a Third-Party Complaint Against Tenants

    Insurer's Appeal of Jury Verdict Rejected by Tenth Circuit

    Economic Damages Cannot be Based On Speculation

    When Licensing Lapses: How One Contractor Lost a $1 Million Dispute

    East Coast Evaluates Damage After Fast-Moving 'Bomb Cyclone'

    It Has Started: Supply-Chain, Warehouse and Retail Workers of Essential Businesses Are Filing Suit

    Megaproject Savings Opportunities

    Flexible Seattle Off-Ramp Would Retain Shape in Quake

    Cumulative Impact Claims and Definition by Certain Boards

    Product Defect Allegations Trigger Duty To Defend in Pennsylvania

    Digital Twins for a Safer Built Environment

    California Supreme Court Clarifies Deadline to File Anti-SLAPP Motions in Light of Amended Pleadings

    COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims Four Years Later: What Have We Learned?

    Park Avenue Is About to Get Something It Hasn’t Seen in 40 Years

    Considerations in Obtaining a Mechanic’s Lien in Maryland (Don’t try this at home)

    Nancy Conrad to Serve as President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association

    Florida District Court Finds That “Unrelated” Design Errors Sufficient to Trigger “Related Claims” Provision in Architects & Engineers Policy

    NY Construction Safety Firm Falsely Certified Workers, Says Manhattan DA

    Do We Really Want Courts Deciding if Our Construction Contracts are Fair?

    Judge Sentences Roofing Contractor Owner in Florida PPP Fraud Case

    Federal District Court Addresses Material Misrepresentation in First Party Property Damage Claim

    MetLife Takes Majority Stake in New San Francisco Office Tower

    Liquidated Damages Clause Not Enforced

    Todd Seelman Recognized as Fellow of Wisconsin Law Foundation

    Brown Paint Doesn’t Cover Up Construction Defects

    Collapse of Breezeway Attached to Building Covered

    Business Risk Exclusions Bar Coverage for Construction Defect Claims

    Construction Spending Had Strongest Increase in Four Years

    Floating Crane on Job in NYC's East River Has a Storied Past of Cold War Intrigue

    Insurers in New Jersey Secure a Victory on Water Damage Claims, But How Big a Victory Likely Remains to be Seen

    Wildfire Smoke Threatens to Wipe Out Decades of Air Pollution Progress

    Is Arbitration Okay Under the Miller Act? It Is if You Don’t Object

    Houston Office Secures Favorable Verdict in Trespass and Nuisance Case Involving Subcontractor’s Accidental Installation of Storm Sewer Pipe on Plaintiff’s Property

    Dust Obscures Eleventh Circuit’s Ruling on “Direct Physical Loss”

    Florida Appellate Courts Holds Underwriting Manuals are Discoverable in Breach of Contract Case

    Louisiana Couple Sues over Defects in Foreclosed Home

    Denver Court Rules that Condo Owners Must Follow Arbitration Agreement

    Union Handbilling: When, Where, and Why it is Legal

    OSHA Penalties—What Happened with International Nutrition

    Mortgage Interest Rates Increase on Newly Built Homes

    A Court-Side Seat – Case Law Update (February 2022)

    Are “Green” Building Designations and Certifications Truly Necessary?

    Harmon Hotel Construction Defect Update

    What Should Be in Every Construction Agreement

    Cal/OSHA’s Toolbox Has Significantly Expanded: A Look At Senate Bill 606

    Draft Federal Legislation Reinforces Advice to Promptly Notify Insurers of COVID-19 Losses

    Newmeyer Dillion Attorneys Named to 2020 Southern California Rising Stars List

    Contractors Sued for Slip

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    New Hampshire Asbestos Abatement Firm Pleads Guilty in Federal Fraud Case
    Corporate Profile

    SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
    DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

    The Seattle, Washington Building Expert Group is comprised from a number of credentialed construction professionals possessing extensive trial support experience relevant to construction defect and claims matters. Leveraging from more than 25 years experience, BHA provides construction related trial support and expert services to the nation's most recognized construction litigation practitioners, Fortune 500 builders, commercial general liability carriers, owners, construction practice groups, and a variety of state and local government agencies.

    Building Expert News & Info
    Seattle, Washington

    Recent Regulatory Activity

    October 25, 2021 —
    Selected federal regulatory actions taken or proposed by several federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency: EPA Actions. On September 15, 2021, EPA’s Water Office issued a memo rescinding a January 2021 guidance document that purported to provide the regulatory community with EPA’s understanding of the Supreme Court’s Clean Water Act ruling in the case of County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. That case involved a discharge of pollutants to groundwater which eventually made their way to the Pacific Ocean. Was an NPDES permit required to authorize this discharge, which was not initially made to a navigable body of water? The text of the Clean Water Act provided little guidance, and the matter has become very controversial. The Court held that if the discharge was the “functional equivalent” of a direct discharge, a permit may be required, and the Court described some factors that could influence a determination that there was the functional equivalent of a direct discharge. However, EPA has rescinded the January 2021 guidance, opining that EPA’s earlier analysis was inconsistent the Court’s opinion, and that the guidance was issued without proper deliberation within EPA or with its federal partners. Until new guidance is prepared, EPA will continue to apply “site-specific, science-based evaluations” to resolve these questions. On October 1, 2021, EPA released its “Climate Adaption Action Plan.” Briefly, EPA will take steps to ensure that its programs and policies consider current and future impacts of climate change and how the impacts disproportionately affect certain underserved or environmental justice communities. The agency’s air and water quality programs, contaminated sites activities and chemical safety and pollution prevention programs will be analyzed to determine their impact. Also on October 1, 2021, EPA released its draft FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan to protect health and the environment. The plan, essentially an internal directive to all offices and regions, reflects a new “foundational principle”—to advance justice and equity by taking on the climate crisis and taking decisive action to advance civil rights and environmental justice. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury
    Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com

    Appellate Court reverses district court’s finding of alter ego in Sedgwick Properties Development Corporation v. Christopher Hinds (2019WL2865935)

    August 13, 2019 —
    Division V of the Colorado Court of Appeals addressed, for the first time, corporate veil-piercing in the context of a single-member, single-purpose LLC that is managed under a contract by another company. On July 3, 2019, the Court of Appeals reversed the order of the Honorable Ross B. Buchannan, Denver District Court Judge (17CA2102), who held that Plaintiff/Appellee Christopher Hinds satisfied the elements required to pierce the corporate veil of Sedgwick Properties Development Corporation (“Sedgwick”). Background Defendant 1950 Logan, LLC (“1950 Logan”) was the developer of a building located at 1950 Logan Street, in Denver, called The Tower on the Park (“Project”), which contained 141 individually owned condominium units. The Project was completed in 2006. 1950 Logan was a single-purpose entity created for the construction of the Project, which is a common practice in the construction industry. After the units were sold in 2006, the LLC wrapped up operations. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Frank Ingham, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
    Mr. Ingham may be contacted at ingham@hhmrlaw.com

    Construction Demand Unsteady, Gains in Some Regions

    June 29, 2011 —

    The Associated General Contractors of America reported Tuesday, June 28 that construction employment increased in 120 of the 337 metropolitan areas surveyed between May 2010 and May 2011.

    ‘While construction employment has stopped plunging, any sign of a recovery remains spotty at best,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. ‘The close to even split between areas adding and losing jobs is a reminder that for every market doing well, there is another market that is still hurting.”

    The largest number of jobs created was in the Dallas, Texas region, with 5,600 new jobs, a five percent increase. The northern Massachusetts/southern New Hampshire region near Haverhill saw the greatest percentage increase, although that twenty-two percent increase represents only 800 new jobs. The Chicago, Illiinois area added 4,600 jobs, a four percent increase.

    Other regions were not so lucky. The Atlanta, Georgia area saw a loss of 7,400 jobs, an eight percent loss. Las Vegas also lost 7,400 jobs, which there represented a sixteen percent decline. The New York City area lost 6,700 jobs, a six percent reduction. The Riverside, California area lost 5,300 jobs, a nine percent loss.

    Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer, blamed a combination of regulation and budget squeezes. "Some in Washington never met a regulation they didn’t like and others never found a penny they didn’t want to pinch. Together that makes for a bad way to boost employment and a great way to stifle the private sector and neglect critical economic infrastructure.”

    Read the full story…

    Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of

    Rainwater Collecting on Rooftop is not Subject to Policy's Flood Sublimits

    October 15, 2024 —
    Responding to a certified question from the First Circuit, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts determined that rainwater collecting on the insureds' rooftop and causing interior damage was not "flood" as defined in the policy and subject to sublimits. Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Medical Properties Trust, Inc., 2024 Mass. LEXIS ___ (Mass. July 23, 2024). A severe thunderstorm caused heavy rain and strong winds which damaged a hospital. The hospital was owned by Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (MPT) and leased to Steward Health Care System LLC (Steward). Ground water accumulated and flooded the basement. Rainwater also accumulated on the hospital's parapet roofs and on the second-story courtyard, and eventually seeped through the parapet roofs and courtyard to the hospital's upper floors, causing damage to the building and property within. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
    Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

    Builder’s Be Wary of Insurance Policies that Provide No Coverage for Building: Mt. Hawley Ins. Co v. Creek Side at Parker HOA

    July 31, 2013 —
    On the heels of a recent order regarding coverage under a Comprehensive General Insurance policy issued by Mt. Hawley Insurance Company (“Mt. Hawley”), builders should be very wary of CGL policies providing no coverage for property damage. On January 8, 2013, District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson granted a motion for declaratory judgment filed by Mt. Hawley. The order states that the subject insurance policies issued by Mt. Hawley to Mountain View Homes II, LLC (“MV Homes”), the builder developer of the Creek Side at Parker development (the “Project”), did not provide coverage for any of the work performed by MV Homes or its subcontractors on the Project. MV Homes originally began construction on the Project in 2002 and completed construction in 2005. MV Homes was insured by National Fire and Marine Insurance Company (“National Fire”) and Mt. Hawley. In December 2008, Creek Side at Parker Homeowners Association, Inc. (“the HOA”) served notice on MV Homes. The HOA then instituted a construction defect lawsuit on June 1, 2009 against MV Homes and others. MV Homes initially demanded a defense and indemnity from National Fire, which provided a defense. Then, after two years, MV Homes demanded a defense and indemnity from Mt. Hawley in July 2011. Mt. Hawley denied coverage and did not provide a defense. The case was settled soon after, and National Fire reserved or assigned claims against Mt. Hawley. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Brady Iandiorio
    Brady Iandiorio can be contacted at Iandiorio@hhmrlaw.com

    Protect Your Right To Payment By Following Nedd

    August 03, 2022 —
    In order to preserve your right to payment, you must satisfy the contractual requirements supporting a change order for the increased costs or time due to the delay. The key to the successful presentation of change order claims is educating your team on the following: 1. NOTICE
    • Review the change order and notice provisions of your contracts. Make your contract searchable and insert the term “Noti” and look for the items listed below.
    • Who: Check the designated representative for notice.
      • It may not be the project manager.
      • Confirm who can authorize the change order.
        • Is owner approval required?
        • Ensure that the party approving the change order has authority to do so.
    • What: Check for specific information required by the contract.
      • Provide ALL information available.
      • If certain information is not yet available, state that the information will be provided when available.
      • Reserve all rights to amend and submit additional information.
      • Request both an increase to the Contract Sum and Contract Time.
        • Make the request even if you do not believe the delay or time necessary will cause a significant impact.
    Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Denise Motta, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP
    Ms. Motta may be contacted at dmotta@grsm.com

    Substitutions On a Construction Project — A Specification Writer Responds

    July 03, 2022 —
    In response to the post about Substitute Materials on a construction project, Phil Kabza explains how his company, SpecGuy, handles tracking of all such materials on a project. Phil writes: Excellent and important topic, about which there is much confusion among design professionals and contractors. We try to maintain definitions for:
    • Pre-bid requests for prior approval of proposed comparable products where products are named in the specifications
    • True pre-bid substitution requests that present an alternate type of product from that specified (ie., not “comparable” but perhaps suitable)
    • Read the court decision
      Read the full story...
      Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale Liggett
      Ms. Brumback may be contacted at mbrumback@rl-law.com

      Rachel Reynolds Selected as Prime Member of ADTA

      April 05, 2021 —
      Seattle Partner Rachel Tallon Reynolds was recently selected as a prime member of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA), an exclusive designation bestowed upon only one lawyer per one million population for each city, town, or municipality. The ADTA is a select group of diverse and experienced civil defense trial attorneys whose mission is to improve their practices through collegial relationships, educational programs, and business referral opportunities, while maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and ethics. ADTA members possess the highest skill level of civil defense trial attorneys. Moreover, because ADTA invites only one defense trial attorney to be its prime member per one million in population for each city, town, or municipality across the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, France and The United Kingdom of Great Britain, as well as Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, a prime membership represents the high regard in which that defense trial attorney is held by his or her peers in the defense trial bar of their city and state or province. Read the court decision
      Read the full story...
      Reprinted courtesy of Rachel Tallon Reynolds, Lewis Brisbois
      Ms. Reynolds may be contacted at Rachel.Reynolds@lewisbrisbois.com