Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

A Court-Side Seat: As SCOTUS Decides Another Regulatory “Takings” Case, a Flurry of Action at EPA

July 19, 2021 — Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel
This is a brief account of some of the important environmental and administrative law cases recently decided. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT Pakdel v. City and County of San Francisco On June 28, 2021, the Supreme Court decided this regulatory “takings” case, and, in a Per Curium opinion, reversed the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that that petitioners had to exhaust their state administrative remedies before they could file this lawsuit under 42 USC Section 1983. The City government had already come to a sufficient regulatory conclusion, and the Constitution does not require additional processing. In so ruling, the Ninth Circuit ignored last term’s decision in Knick v. Township of Scott. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury
Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com

Business Interruption Claim Upheld

April 01, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
A business interruption claim survived an appeal after it was determined the claim was satisfactorily presented to the trial court. Citadel Broadcasting Corp. v. Axis U.S. Ins. Co., 2015 La. App. LEXIS 274 (La. Ct. App. Feb. 11, 2015). When Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005, the insured owned three radio stations that broadcast in and around New Orleans. All three stations suffered property damage and were off the air for varying periods of time. The insured's policy with Axis covered both physical damage and business interruption (BI) losses. The policy also insured contingent business interruption income (CBI). Both ordinary BI and CBI losses were covered under a 365 day extended period of indemnity (EPI). 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

US Court Disputes $1.8B AECOM Damage Award in ‘Remarkable Fraud’ Suit

April 26, 2021 — Mary B. Powers - Engineering News-Record
A federal appeals court has thrown out a $1.8-billion award granted by a lower court three years ago to an AECOM unit in a bizarre legal battle involving a Nevada company that claimed to have won multiple contracts using the name of Morrison Knudsen—the former well-known Boise-based construction contractor that was sold in 1996, and through acquisitions, became part of design-build giant AECOM in 2014. Reprinted courtesy of Mary B. Powers, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Nonparty Discovery in California Arbitration: How to Get What You Want

March 02, 2020 — Leilani E. Jones - Payne & Fears
This article was originally published for the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ATBL) Report, Volume XX, No. 3, Winter 2018 by attorney Leilani L. Jones. Opting for arbitration requires attorneys to balance efficiency and procedural protections. The implications of arbitration are something clients certainly have to carefully consider both when drafting arbitration provisions, and after initiating a demand. While arbitration can in many respects streamline the civil discovery process, one of the largest roadblocks for cases in California arbitrations is “streamlining” discovery from nonparties. This article explores the challenges presented by third party discovery in arbitration, and proposes strategies for obtaining such discovery efficiently and expeditiously. Alternative dispute resolution tends to make sense to most businesses implementing preventive measures for future litigation. Clients, lawyers, and judges can generally agree that arbitration is the more “cost-effective” way to resolve disputes, especially in California. While arbitration is theoretically a lowcost option for dispute resolution, almost all parties (particularly the party defending) bristle at climbing expenditures during discovery. This is all despite the perception of more “streamlined” processes in arbitrations. On balance, arbitrators, employing less formal procedures for discovery disputes, can typically cut to the chase faster than a civil judge. Parties often resolve issues via letter brief and telephonic hearing, if necessary, instead of formal noticed motions with accompanying separate statements. The Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc.’s (“JAMS”) own “Arbitration Discovery Protocols” specifically “ensure that an arbitration will be resolved much less expensively and in much less time than if it had been litigated in court.” Accessed at https:// www.jamsadr.com/arbitration-discovery-protocols. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Leilani E. Jones, Payne & Fears
Ms. Jones may be contacted at llj@paynefears.com

Las Vegas Student Housing Developer Will Name Replacement Contractor

February 15, 2018 — John Guzzon – ENR
More than four months after construction abruptly stopped on a $76-million student housing project for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, the developer is seeking a new contractor. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of John Guzzon, Engineering News- Record
Mr. Guzzon may be contacted at ENRSouthWestEditor@enr.com

Harborside Condo Construction Defect Settlement Moves Forward

July 09, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The Harborside Condominium Owners Association in Bremerton, Washington, “has an agreement to pursue $2.8 million in settlement costs for construction defects,” according to the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal. Back in March of 2013, the association “filed a list of defects in its lawsuit against Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority [Housing Kitsap]” including water issues, drywall and foundation cracks, uneven cabinets, leaking showers and pipes, as well as other issues. Housing Kitsap agreed that the association “has the right to pursue a settlement of $2.8 million from the authority’s contractors and insurance companies.” Marlyn Hawkins, the association’s attorney, stated that they have already received a payment for $840,000 from the insurance company “and will be negotiating or filing suit for the rest of the $2.8 million.” Read the court decision
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Traub Lieberman Partner Ryan Jones Provides Testimony Before Florida Senate Committees

January 09, 2023 — C. Ryan Jones - Traub Lieberman
On December 12, Traub Lieberman Partner Ryan Jones provided testimony before two Florida Senate Committees during a Special Session to address the insurance crisis in Florida. Following the Special Session, the Florida Senate passed Senate Bill 2-A, which was designed to improve the property insurance marketplace for homeowners. Among other changes, the bill eliminates the one-way attorney’s fees provision in favor of insureds for lawsuits over disputed property claims and sets pre-requisites to filing bad faith lawsuits. The bill was recently signed into law by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of C. Ryan Jones, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Jones may be contacted at rjones@tlsslaw.com

Charles Carter v. Pulte Home Corporation

October 12, 2020 — Michael Velladao - Lewis Brisbois
In Carter v. Pulte Home Corp., __Cal.App.5th__(July 23, 2020), the California Court of Appeal affirmed the entry of judgment in favor of subcontractors in connection with a Complaint for Intervention based on equitable subrogation filed by Travelers Property Casualty Company of America (“Travelers”) seeking to recover defense costs incurred in defending Pulte Home Corporation (“Pulte”) in an underlying construction defect lawsuit. The parties’ dispute arose out of Travelers’ defense of Pulte as an additional insured under policies issued to four subcontractors involved in the underlying construction defect lawsuit. Several subcontractors involved in the underlying construction defect lawsuit refused to defend Pulte based on the indemnity clauses in their subcontracts. Such clauses promised to indemnify Pulte as follows: “all liability, claims, judgments, suits, or demands for damages to persons or property arising out of, resulting from, or relating to Contractor’s performance of work under the Agreement (“Claims”) unless such Claims have been specifically determined by the trier of fact to be the sole negligence of Pulte. . . .” Pulte eventually settled the construction defect lawsuit and its claims against all of the subcontractors. Travelers ultimately paid $320,491.82 for Pulte’s defense and recovered $164,400 from some of the subcontractors. Travelers’ intervention in the underlying lawsuit was intended to recover the remaining $156,091.82 from the subcontractors that refused to indemnify Pulte for the defense of the construction defect lawsuit. In the underlying trial, Travelers argued that the subcontractors were obligated to pay defense costs on a joint and several basis (minus what Travelers had already recovered). The trial court did not agree and held that Travelers was not entitled to equitable subrogation for the remaining defense costs. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michael Velladao, Lewis Brisbois
Mr. Velladao may be contacted at Michael.Velladao@lewisbrisbois.com

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