Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Duty To Defend Construction Defect Case Affirmed, Duty to Indemnify Reversed In Part

May 07, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's finding of a duty to defend, but reversed, in part, the insurer's duty to indemnify. Carithers v. Mid-Continent Cas. Co., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 5540 (11th Cir. April 7, 2015). After discovering a number of defects in their home, the Carithers sued their homebuilder, Cronk Duch Miller & Associates. Cronk Duch's insurer, Mid-Continent Casualty Company, refused to defend.The parties entered into a consent judgment for $90,000 in favor of the Carithers. Cronk Duch then assigned to the Carithers the right to collect the judgment from Mid-Continent. The Carithers then sued Mid-Continent. Florida law applied. Mid-Continent has issued four policies to Cronk Duch from March 2005 to October 2008. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment on the duty to defend issue. The underlying complaint alleged that the defects could not have been discovered until 2010, after the last policy period. The district court rejected Mid-Continent's argument that property damage occurred when it was discovered or when it reasonably could have been discovered. Therefore, summary judgment on the duty to defend was granted to the Carithers. 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

The Value of Photographic Evidence in Construction Litigation

April 26, 2021 — Marie Mueller - Construction Executive
If a picture is worth a thousand words, can it be worth a thousand dollars? Ten thousand? Maybe, if it provides key evidence in a construction dispute. Litigating a construction case involves each side telling their story. Details and visual context make a story compelling. Evidence and corroboration make a story persuasive. Photographs can help on both of these fronts. The Value of Photographic Evidence in Construction Litigation Consider the following examples:

A dispute relates to the timeliness of particular work. An employee has a memory of a load of materials arriving to the site later than it should have, but the records are incomplete or ambiguous about when it actually occurred. If the employee also took a photo of the materials, on the day they arrived, they could match up the date of the photo to their memory and build a clear timeline.
A dispute relates to the presence or absence of obstructions in drilled shafts. There are no available photographs or videos of the work due to site restrictions. Presentation of this type of case may be severely limited by not being able to show photos depicting the size, shape and type of material removed from the shafts, and by the lack of video depicting the work.

Reprinted courtesy of Marie Mueller, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Ms. Mueller may be contacted at mmueller@verrill-law.com

Pennsylvania Reconstruction Project Beset by Problems

October 15, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that “[t]he Penn Avenue reconstruction project in Garfield, described as ‘a comedy of errors’ by one neighborhood leader, remains months behind schedule and has gone well over budget.” The $4.7 million construction budget has increased “by at least $800,000,” according to the Pittsburgh post-Gazette. Problems included the underground utilities not on maps or mapped inaccurately, water lines breaking, and old streetcar tracks were discovered to have contaminated soil. Rick Swartz, executive director of the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp., told the Gazette that the project has been “plagued with problems and poor communication from the very start.” Read the court decision
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In Pricey California, Renters Near Respite From Landlord Gouging

September 16, 2019 — Noah Buhayar - Bloomberg
The housing crisis engulfing California has state lawmakers racing to pass bills that would boost construction and stop corporate landlords from egregiously jacking up rents. The bills overcame key hurdles last week and are due for final votes before the legislature adjourns on Sept. 13. The hardest-fought measure would set a higher standard for evictions and cap annual rent increases at 5% plus the rate of inflation. While that’s below the typical pace of lease hikes -- and the bill has many caveats for landlords -- it would still mark the state’s most significant new protection for tenants in decades. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Noah Buhayar, Bloomberg

Note on First-Party and Third-Party Spoliation of Evidence Claims

October 30, 2018 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
In an earlier posting, I talked about spoliation of evidence. This posting discussed first-party spoliation of evidence which is where a party in a lawsuit has destroyed or lost potentially important documents or evidence. This type of spoliation of evidence does not give rise to an affirmative claim, but could be addressed by the trial court imposing sanctions or giving the devastating adverse inference jury instruction. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Houston Bond Issue Jump-Starts 237 Flood Control Projects

September 10, 2018 — Louise Poirier & Pam Radtke Russell - Engineering News-Record
More than $3 billion in flood risk reduction and repair projects can move forward in Houston following a vote held on Hurricane Harvey's anniversary that authorized a $2.5-billion bond program. Reprinted courtesy of Louise Poirier, ENR and Pam Radtke Russell, ENR Ms. Poirier may be contacted at poirierl@enr.com Ms. Russell may be contacted at Russellp@bnpmedia.com Read the court decision
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Empowering Success: The Advantages of Female Attorneys in Construction Defect Law

December 11, 2023 — Alexa Stephenson, Hoosai Kabiri & Ivette Kincaid - Kahana Feld
Per the most recent U.S. Census records, women make up 50.4% of the U.S. population. It should come as no surprise then that women currently outnumber men in U.S. law schools. Nevertheless, as of 2022, only 38% of attorneys, 30% of federal judges, 22% of equity partners, and 12% of managing partners nationwide are comprised of women. While great strides have been made in the last century to increase gender equality in the legal field, there is undoubtedly still a long way to go. Studies have shown that women in the workforce lead to a number of benefits not only to the business itself, but to a business’ employees and culture. In the realm of construction defect law in particular, the presence and contributions of female attorneys have become increasingly impactful and essential. As the legal landscape evolves, the benefits of having female attorneys practicing in this specialized field are becoming more evident, offering a range of advantages that contribute to a more diverse, comprehensive, and successful legal environment. These advantages include: 1. Diverse Perspectives: Female attorneys bring a unique perspective to the practice of construction defect law, enriching the field with their insights and experiences. Their diverse backgrounds and viewpoints can lead to innovative strategies and fresh approaches when tackling complex legal issues. Reprinted courtesy of Alexa Stephenson, Kahana Feld, Hoosai Kabiri, Kahana Feld and Ivette Kincaid, Kahana Feld Ms. Stephenson may be contacted at astephenson@kahanafeld.com Ms. Kabiri may be contacted at hkabiri@kahanafeld.com Ms. Kincaid may be contacted at ikincaid@kahanafeld.com Read the court decision
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JD Supra’s 2017 Reader’s Choice Awards

March 22, 2017 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
JD Supra, one of the world’s leading content distribution companies for the legal industry, announced its Readers’ Choice Awards for 2017 earlier this week. We were honored to be among a group of 200 authors selected from over 40,000 who published legal news, commentary and analysis on legal issues of importance to the clients we serve. 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

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