Insurance Law Client Alert: California FAIR Plan Limited to Coverage Provided by Statutory Fire Insurance Policy
February 07, 2014 —
Valerie A. Moore and Chris Kendrick - Haight Brown & Bonesteel, LLPIn St. Cyr v. California Fair Plan Association (No. B243159, filed 1/31/14), a California appeals court held that the state's high risk property insurance plan is not obligated to provide any greater coverage than that mandated for the state's statutory fire insurance policy.
The plaintiff-policyholders lived in high fire risk areas and were insured under the California FAIR Plan, which provides property insurance to the otherwise uninsurable. Following loss of their homes and other property in wildfires, the policyholders were paid the full amount of their policy limits, but contended that they were entitled to additional payments. Specifically, the policyholders alleged that the FAIR plan provided less protection than statutorily mandated by Insurance Code sections 10090 through 10100.2, which spells out the "Basic Property Insurance Inspection and Placement Plan" of the FAIR program.
The policyholders contended that FAIR was required to issue a policy not only in accordance with the standard form fire insurance policy set forth in Insurance Code section 2071, but also the "'Basic Property Insurance' written in the normal market . . . known as the 'HO-3'," referring to the copywrited homeowners policy form promulgated by the Insurance Services Office (ISO).
Reprinted Courtesy of Valerie A. Moore, Haight Brown & Bonesteel, LLP and
Chris Kendrick, Haight Brown & Bonesteel, LLP
Ms. Moore may be contacted at vmoore@hbblaw.com and Mr. Kendrick may be contacted at ckendrick@hbblaw.com.
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Insurer Beware: Failure to Defend Ends with Hefty Verdict
June 01, 2011 —
Douglas Reiser, Builders Council BlogServed with a lawsuit that you turned over to your insurer? Insurer refusing to defend you? Well, find some hope in this news. Washington’s IFCA has the claws to ensure that insurers perform their duties.
Contractors heavily rely on the defense provisions of their Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies. In construction, a legal dispute can easily rear its head when you least expect it. Luckily, Washington registered contractors are required to maintain CGL insurance. That insurance often provides contractors with adequate legal defense in the event that they are sued.
But, what if your insurer turns down the defense request? They might be staring at massive damages. A current Reiser Legal client, Australia Unlimited, Inc., recently won a large verdict against Hartford Insurance, after the insurer unreasonably denied their claim. The firm who represented Australia Unlimited Inc. in that case, Hackett Beecher and Hart, were successful in procuring a $5.43 Million verdict
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Reprinted courtesy of Douglas Reiser of Reiser Legal LLC. Mr. Reiser can be contacted at info@reiserlegal.com
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Bridges Need More Attention
July 31, 2023 —
Christoph Klauser - Construction ExecutiveSince it became possible to calculate the specific design-build needs of bridges with increasing accuracy in the 19th century, and new materials—beginning with cast iron and steel, followed by reinforced and prestressed concretes—also became available to build them, the number of bridges constructed all over the world has increased. It is evident today that many of these bridges have aged considerably, conditions which often lead to collapse despite regular inspections and repairs. The Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh, an approximately 440-foot-long, three-span steel bridge over a forest ravine, collapsed in January 2022. Fortunately, no fatalities occurred, although several vehicles, including a bus, were involved in the collapse.
How can accidents of this nature be avoided, and which technologies are available to protect bridges more effectively? Bridges all over the world can be efficiently monitored with weigh in motion (WIM) and structural health monitoring (SHM), extending their service life and, in a worst-case scenario, preventing their collapse.
Reprinted courtesy of
Christoph Klauser, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
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BHA has a Nice Swing Benefits the Wounded Warrior Project
May 20, 2015 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFBert L. Howe & Associates (BHA) would like to congratulate the winners of the BHA Has a Nice Swing golf game for charity at the 2015 West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar. With the help of the participants, BHA was able to raise $1925 to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. BHA would also like to congratulate the raffle winners. Prizes included a DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ Drone and Dodger baseball tickets.
The Wounded Warrior Project’s purpose is to raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members; to help injured service members aid and assist each other; and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members.
Learn more about the Wounded Warrior Project...
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Colorado Court of Appeals Confirms Senior Living Communities as “Residential Properties” for Purposes of the Homeowner Protection Act
November 06, 2023 —
Hal Baker - Colorado Construction Litigation BlogThe Third Division of the Colorado Court of Appeals recently interpreted the Homeowner Protection Act of 2007 (the “HPA”) in Heights Healthcare v. BCER, 2023 COA 44, decided on May 25, 2023. The Court held that a senior living community that is located on a parcel zoned “commercial” or “mixed use” constitutes “residential property” that is protected by the HPA, regardless of the zoning designation.
The claims in Heights Healthcare arose from a contract between BCER and Heights Healthcare for BCER to provide mechanical and electrical services relating to the installation of Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner units at the senior living community. The contract between the parties included a limitation of liability clause, limiting BCER’s liability to a total of $22,500 for the total cost of services rendered. After the installation, Heights Healthcare discovered that the air conditioner units were malfunctioning, causing too few of the eighty-four units to run and tripping the breaker—shutting down the entire system—when the outdoor temperature dropped too low. Following the discovery of the malfunction, Heights Healthcare filed suit against BCER for breach of contract under the Construction Defect Action Reform Act (“CDARA”).
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Hal Baker, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLCMr. Baker may be contacted at
baker@hhmrlaw.com
Preparing For and Avoiding Residential Construction Disputes: For Homeowners and Contractors
September 18, 2023 —
Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law MusingsFor this week’s Guest Post Friday here at Construction Law Musings, we welcome a great friend. Scott Wolfe Jr. (@scottwolfejr)is a construction attorney in Louisiana, Washington and Oregon, and is the founding member of the construction practice Wolfe Law Group. He authors the Construction Law Monitor. He is also the founder of the mechanic lien and preliminary notice filing service, Zlien, and the author of its Construction Lien Blog.
Residential construction disputes come in all shapes and sizes, but very typically have one thing in common: they can get very nasty.
This is understandable, especially in today’s economy. The homeowner is spending hard-earned money on something very personal to them, their home. They want it done right. The contractor is working on really tight margins, and with a diligent client.
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The Law Office of Christopher G. HillMr. Hill may be contacted at
chrisghill@constructionlawva.com
Enhanced Geothermal Energy Could Be the Next Zero-Carbon Hero
June 10, 2024 —
Sidney L. Fowler, Robert A. James & Clarence H. Tolliver - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogHydrogen, solar, wind—and even microwave beams from outer space—are a few of the alternative energies being explored as the world strives to cut the cord on carbon emissions. Recently, advancements in geothermal energy technologies appear poised to significantly expand geothermal’s reach. These new methods, varyingly referred to as enhanced, engineered or advanced geothermal systems (collectively referred to here as EGS), have recently made strides in scalability and grabbed the attention of changemakers. If successful, EGS may play a major role in the clean energy transition. The technique creates no emissions and is virtually limitless (it pulls from heat generated by the Earth’s core), and can provide constant baseload power, making it appealing to green-minded investors. This article calls attention to the progress and variety of EGS projects and proposals that Pillsbury sees as part of the ongoing energy transition.
People have long been drawn to geothermal energy, with Paleo-Americans settling at hot springs some 10,000 years ago. In 1892, Boise, Idaho, became the first town to establish a district heating system that piped naturally occurring hot water from underground and into homes. It would take another 70 years for other cities to replicate the feat, but now 17 U.S. districts use such systems, along with dozens more worldwide.
Reprinted courtesy of
Sidney L. Fowler, Pillsbury,
Robert A. James, Pillsbury and
Clarence H. Tolliver, Pillsbury
Mr. Fowler may be contacted at sidney.fowler@pillsburylaw.com
Mr. James may be contacted at rob.james@pillsburylaw.com
Mr. Tolliver may be contacted at clarence.tolliver@pillsburylaw.com
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Supreme Court of Washington State Upholds SFAA Position on Spearin Doctrine
September 13, 2021 —
Peter Roth – The Surety & Fidelity Association of AmericaSeptember 9, 2021 (WASHINGTON, DC) –
The Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) commends the decision of The Supreme Court of The State of Washington to reverse the lower court ruling in the case of Lake Hills Investments, LLC vs. Rushforth Construction Co. As argued by SFAA, the Supreme Court found the contractor should not be responsible for damage caused by the defective design provided by the owner even where the contractor was responsible for certain defective work. In addition, the contractor is not completely barred from asserting this defense if the defects were caused by a combination of deficient performance by the contractor and deficient design, and proportional liability should be determined.
The SFAA, along with the National Electrical Contractors Association Puget Sound Chapter (NECA), Mechanical Contractors Association of Western Washington (MCAWW) and SMACNA-Western Washington (SMACNA), issued an Amici Curiae in support of Petitioner AP Rushforth Construction Co., Inc. d/b/a AP Rushforth, and Adolfson & Peterson, Inc.’s (collectively “AP”) Petition for Discretionary Review. In the brief they argued the Court should grant the Petition because the decision by the lower court is contrary to precedent of limiting a contractor’s liability when the owner’s defective plans and specifications caused the defective work, and upsets settled expectations of allocation of risk and liability between contractors, owners and architects (among others) on construction projects. This allocation of risk and the principle of limiting the contractor’s liability for defective work based on defective plans and specifications is long settled doctrine in Washington State and throughout the country, a doctrine based on the US Supreme Court’s landmark decision in U.S. vs. Spearin more than 100 years ago.
The Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) is a trade association of more than 425 insurance companies that write 98 percent of surety and fidelity bonds in the U.S. SFAA is licensed as a rating or advisory organization in all states and it has been designated by state insurance departments as a statistical agent for the reporting of fidelity and surety experience. www.surety.org
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Peter Roth, SFAAMr. Roth may be contacted at
proth@surety.org
