FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Federal Judge Dismisses Insurance Coverage Lawsuit In Construction Defect Case

December 09, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

A federal judge dismissed a coverage lawsuit brought by Mid Continent Casualty Company against its insured, Greater Midwest Builders Ltd.

Plaintiff brought this declaratory judgment action in response to a suit filed in Johnson County District Court, seeking a judicial determination that it had no coverage obligation for claims asserted against its insured. This case was stayed until the state court action entered judgment against the insured. The prevailing parties then commenced a garnishment action against the plaintiff, and another insurance company, in state court in Missouri. The court was asked whether it should lift the stay and proceed with the case, or decline jurisdiction in favor of resolution in the Missouri state court.

The court granted the motion to dismiss holding that proceeding with the case would lead to protracted, piecemeal litigation, while deferring to the Missouri state court would decide all the claims involved in the dispute.

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Old Case Teaches New Tricks

March 16, 2017 — Angela A.L. Connor & Curtis W. Martin - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Eight years after completion of the wharf project, Zachry and the Port of Houston continue to slug it out in the appellate courts and continue to refi ne Texas construction law along the way. In the latest appellate opinion, the Court of Appeals details the general contractor’s control of the means and methods of their work without interference from a governmental entity. It also supports a subcontractor’s use of a pass-through claim as a cost efficient way to recover damages. By now most of us are familiar with the project and the previous decisions. Zachry sued the Port claiming breach after the Port denied Zachry the right to continue construction using its frozen cutoff wall. The Texas Supreme Court upheld the jury’s $20 million verdict for Zachry, ruling that the Port’s “no damages for delay” clause would not bar Zachry’s claim in light of the Port’s active interference with Zachry’s work. The Supreme Court then sent the case back to the Court of Appeals to consider other arguments that the Port had made. That led to the most recent decision. In December, 2016, the Houston Fourteenth Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Zachry on all issues and affirmed the jury verdict. In doing so, the Court of Appeals provides several lessons or reminders on Texas Construction law. Reprinted courtesy of Angela A.L. Connor, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Curtis W. Martin, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Ms. Connor may be contacted at aconnor@pecklaw.com Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@pecklaw.com Read the court decision
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Florida Enacts Sweeping Tort Reform Legislation, Raising Barriers to Insurance Coverage Claims

April 18, 2023 — Walter J. Andrews, Andrea DeField & Jae Lynn Huckaba - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
As discussed in a recent client alert, on March 24, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill (HB) 837 into law, making it more difficult and costly for insurance policyholders of all sizes to sue insurers for bad faith by eliminating fee-shifting for most policyholders and requiring something “more than” negligence for bad faith claims. HB 837’s Impact on Insurance Coverage Claims: HB 837 is another in a series of reform legislation recently passed in Florida that significantly impacts policyholders’ ability to hold their insurers accountable for the wrongful failure to pay benefits due under the insurance contract. Recent efforts include last year’s repeal of the one-way fee-shifting statute for claims brought under residential and commercial property insurance policies. Previously, the fee-shifting statute allowed policyholders to recover attorneys’ fees from their insurers when the policyholder prevailed in a coverage action. HB 837 repeals Section 627.428 of the Florida Statutes entirely, extending the repeal of the one-way fee-shifting statute to all types of insurance coverage disputes—not just those under residential and commercial property insurance policies. Reprinted courtesy of Walter J. Andrews, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Andrea DeField, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Jae Lynn Huckaba, Hunton Andrews Kurth Mr. Andrews may be contacted at wandrews@HuntonAK.com Ms. DeField may be contacted at adefield@HuntonAK.com Ms. Huckaba may be contacted at jhuckaba@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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The Roads to Justice: Building New Bridges

August 23, 2021 — Aileen Cho - Engineering News-Record
Former U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx grew up on “the wrong side of the tracks.” “My home was a stone’s throw from Interstates 85 and 77,” recalls Foxx, who grew up in Charlotte, N.C., and served as DOT Secretary from 2013-17 under President Barack Obama. “The airport was nearby. Planes flew at low altitude over our house. Whether or not I was using the system, I sure heard and saw a lot of it.” Desirable areas to live were far away from transportation infrastructure, “and the property values of those living near these projects was diminished.” Reprinted courtesy of Aileen Cho, Engineering News-Record Ms. Cho may be contacted at choa@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (12/4/24) – Highest Rate of Office Conversions, Lending Caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Affordability Challenges for Homebuyers

December 23, 2024 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, infrastructure-related ballot initiatives, U.S. Green Building Council’s success stories, support for sustainable building, and more!

• 2024 is expected to see the highest rate of office conversions since CBRE began tracking them in 2016. (Nish Amarnath, SmartCities Dive)
• The Federal Housing Finance Agency has established lending caps of $73 billion each for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, allowing them to purchase a total of up to $146 billion in multifamily loans in 2025. (Leslie Shaver, Multifamily Dive)
• A number of infrastructure-related initiatives with the potential to impact facilities managers were on the ballot during the 2024 U.S. presidential election. (Joe Burns, Construction Dive)

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New Home Construction Booming in Texas

October 24, 2022 — Jason Daniel Feld & Ron Raydon - Kahana Feld

With the rapid relocation trends of families moving to Texas, it was reported that new residential construction permits in Texas grew to a total value in excess of $2 billion and over 7,500 new construction permits in September 2022 alone. D.R. Horton lead the way with 1,139 new permits, while Lennar Homes clocked 696 new permits. Other leading homebuilders including KB Homes (239 permits) and Pulte Homes (253 permits) remained active heading into the 4th Quarter of 2022. The following is a breakdown of new permits and average home values in the 4 largest cities in Texas (Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio) for September 2022:

Houston

Last month, there were approximately 340 home builders with new permits on record in the Houston area, and the following ranked as the top five total new permits:

Builder	Total Permits	Average Value
1-D.R. Horton	483	$ 129,812.00
2-Camillo Properties	190	$ 147,790.00
3-Lennar Homes	188	$ 195,503.00
4-Meritage Homes	124	$ 248,597.00
5-Wan Pacific Real Estate Development	117	$ 165,044.00

Dallas

In Dallas, there were more than 290 contractors with new residential construction activity on record with HBW last month, and the following ranked as the top five for total new permits:

Builder	Total Permits	Average Value
1-D.R. Horton	555	$ 179,430.00
2-Lennar Homes	232	$ 202,318.00
3-Trophy Signature Homes	111	$ 274,016.00
4-Bloomfield Homes	97	$ 405,235.00
5-Meritage Homes	92	$ 267,425.00

 Austin

Last month, there were nearly 125 home builders with new construction activity on record in the Austin area, and the following ranked as the top five for total new permits for the one-month period:

Builder	Total Permits	Average Value
1-Lennar Homes	150	$ 154,390.00
2-KB Homes	147	$ 253,606.00
3-D.R. Horton	99	$ 200,416.00
4-Taylor Morrison Homes	79	$ 365,183.00
5-David Weekley Homes	64	$ 436,978.00

 San Antonio

In San Antonio, there were nearly 120 contractors with new residential construction activity on record last month, and the following ranked as the top five for total new permits:

Builder	Total Permits	Average Value
1-Lennar Homes	126	$ 174,315.00
2-KB Homes	55	$ 254,109.00
3-Pulte Homes	52	$ 241,012.00
4-M/I Homes	51	$ 237,283.00
5-LGI Homes	30	$ 202,760.00

The residential construction boom is Texas does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. With new corporations relocating corporate offices to the Lone Star State each year, we expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. And with increased home production, we will closely monitor the increase in construction related litigation over the next five to ten years.

The increase in market activity attracts new or inexperienced builders and tradesman, making the importance of a proactive approach to construction management all the more important. Given the labor shortages and supply chain issues. It is imperative that Texas homebuilders take extra precautions to ensure quality construction practices and oversight to minimize potential litigation.

Reprinted courtesy of Jason Daniel Feld, Kahana Feld and Ron Raydon, Kahana Feld

Mr. Feld may be contacted at jfeld@kahanafeld.com

Mr. Raydon may be contacted at rraydon@kahanafeld.com

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Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Increased 5% in Year to June

August 26, 2015 — Michelle Jamrisko – Bloomberg
Home prices in 20 U.S. cities climbed 5 percent in June from the same month a year earlier, a sign of more progress in the housing market. The increase in the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values matched the year-over-year gains in the prior three months, the group said Tuesday in New York. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 5.1 percent year-over-year advance. Nationally, prices rose 4.5 percent. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michelle Jamrisko, Bloomberg

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Review of Recent Contractors State License Board Changes

February 27, 2023 — Alexander Moore - Kahana Feld
California’s Contractors State License Board (CSLB) was established in 1929 to protect California residents through licensing and regulating contractors working in the state. Today, the CSLB licenses approximately 290,000 contractors, utilizing forty-four different classifications. Each licensing classification specifies the type of contracting work permitted by that classification. The CSLB website (www.cslb.ca.gov) contains a wealth of information for contractors and non-contractor consumers alike. Consumers can use the website’s features to check the history and business information of contractors, searching via license number, business name, or individual name. License applicants can use the website for instructions and forms for the application process. Contractors can use the website for renewals, regulations, and various resources. One the CSLB’s most important roles is assisting contractors with keeping track of the multitude of state regulations, and periodic changes thereto, that apply to those in the construction trades. The CSLB posts periodic Industry Bulletins which provide helpful guidance and reminders of important construction topics. At year end, the CSLB issues a bulletin to update licensees of the changes to California Law that will become effective on the first of January in the coming year. Below are four of the more interesting and impactful statutory changes. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Alexander Moore, Kahana Feld
Mr. Moore may be contacted at amoore@kahanafeld.com

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