Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Unlocking the Hidden Power of Zoning, for Good or Bad

October 21, 2024 — David Zipper - Bloomberg
No longer dismissed as an insomnia-curing corner of local governance, zoning is having a moment. It’s at the heart of the pro-housing Yes In My Backyard — or YIMBY — movement, which seeks to reform the rules that mandate the construction of single-family homes across much of the US, and the arcane details of land use policy are being debated in national outlets and city councils across the US. In much of this discourse, zoning is the clear villain, blamed for feeding societal ills ranging from housing costs to racial discrimination to greenhouse gas emissions. In her new book Key to the City, Sara Bronin examines zoning with a critical but sympathetic eye. Bronin brings deep experience to the topic, having studied zoning as an architect and lawyer before overhauling the land use regulations of Hartford, Connecticut. A professor of architecture and planning at Cornell University (and an occasional Bloomberg CityLab contributor), she is currently on leave to chair the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Zipper, Bloomberg

Hilary Soaks California With Flooding Rain and Snarls Flights

August 21, 2023 — Brian K. Sullivan & Brian Wingfield - Bloomberg
The remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary pummeled California with record rains on Monday, disrupting flights but sparing its largest cities from widespread destruction. Across the region, “the ongoing and historic amount of rainfall is expected to cause life-threatening to locally catastrophic” floods, along with landslides and mudslides, the National Hurricane Center said in a notice early Monday. The storm, now a post-tropical cyclone, has weakened since coming ashore in California late Sunday. As of early Monday, it had maximum sustained winds of about 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour and is forecast to move across Nevada and dissipate on Monday. Hilary, a rare storm to hit the Southwest, could bring a year’s worth of rain to parts of a region famous for its usually balmy weather. Heavy rain and flash flooding have already disrupted transportation, and officials warned residents to stay off the roads. In the last 10 years, flooding from rainfall has caused the most deaths from hurricanes and tropical storms in the US. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bloomberg

Insurer Has Duty to Defend Faulty Workmanship Claim

January 22, 2024 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The magistrate judge recommended a determination that the insurer owed a defense to the subcontractor sued for faulty workmanship. Hanover Lloyds Ins Co. v. Donegal Mut. Ins. Co., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180877 (W.D. Texas Oct. 5, 2023). Poe Investments, Ltd. entered into an agreement with Jordan Foster Construction, LLC for construction of an auto sales and service facility ("Facility"). Jordan hired multiple subcontractors, including Texas Electrical Contractors, LLC ("TEC"). Subsequently, Poe sold the Facility to 6330 Montana, LLC ("Montana"). Montana filed suit against Jordan for breach of express warranties, breach of contract, and negligence. Jordon filed a third-party complaint against its subcontractors, including TEC. Jordan alleged that TEC provided "defective and negligent construction work" while carrying out the provision and installation of electrical and fire alarm systems at the Facility. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Construction is the Fastest Growing Industry in California

May 20, 2015 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
We wrote earlier about why construction workers are the happiest employees on Earth, and pointed to one possible factor: That construction, which was one of the hardest hit industries during the 2008 real estate collapse, has since bounced back. This past month, the California Employment Development Department (“EDD”) released data putting some numbers to that hypothesis. And the result: According to the EDD, over the past 12 months, construction was the fastest growing industry in California, adding more than 46,000 jobs within the last year, an increase of 6.9% from 667,000 workers in March 2014 to 713,000 workers in March 2015. 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

Texas Supreme Court Authorizes Exception to the "Eight-Corners" Rule

February 28, 2022 — Jared De Jong, Nathan A. Cazier & Scott S. Thomas - Payne & Fears
For decades, an insurer’s duty to defend under Texas law was determined exclusively by reviewing the insurance contract and the allegations of the complaint under the “eight-corners rule.” All of this changed last week when, in a long-awaited decision, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that courts may consider extrinsic evidence to determine the existence of coverage in certain limited situations. Monroe Guar. Ins. Co. v. BITCO Gen. Ins. Corp., No. 21-0232, 2022 WL 413940 (Tex. Feb. 11, 2022). In Monroe, a drilling contractor was sued for damages arising out of the allegedly botched drilling of an irrigation well. The underlying lawsuit alleged that negligent drilling caused damage to surrounding farmland. However, the complaint did not allege when the damage occurred. The contractor’s insurers, BITCO General Insurance Corporation (“Bitco”) and Monroe Guarantee Insurance Company (“Monroe”) disputed whether Monroe owed a duty to defend. Although Bitco agreed to provide a defense, Monroe refused, arguing that the property damage happened before its policy period. Bitco sued Monroe for contribution. In the trial court, the insurers stipulated that a drill bit became stuck before Monroe’s policy incepted, a fact that would have supported Monroe’s “prior damage” defense. On summary judgment, though, the trial court ruled this stipulated fact could not be considered under Texas’ eight-corners rule. Monroe appealed, and the Fifth Circuit, which had previously endorsed an exception to the eight-corners rule under Northfield Insurance Co. v. Loving Home Care, Inc., 363 F.3d 523, 531 (5th Cir. 2004), certified the question to the Texas Supreme Court. Reprinted courtesy of Jared De Jong, Payne & Fears, Nathan A. Cazier, Payne & Fears and Scott S. Thomas, Payne & Fears Mr. Jong may be contacted at jdj@paynefears.com Mr. Cazier may be contacted at nac@paynefears.com Mr. Thomas may be contacted at sst@paynefears.com Read the court decision
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Ambiguity in Pennsylvania’s Statute of Repose Finally Cleared up by Superior Court

October 17, 2023 — Mark L. Parisi - White and Williams LLP
In an unpublished opinion from the Pennsylvania Superior Court handed down on August 31, 2023, a long-standing disagreement about the wording of Pennsylvania's Statute of Repose was finally resolved. In Pennsylvania, “a civil action or proceeding brought against any person lawfully performing or furnishing the design, planning, supervision or observation of construction or construction of any improvement to real property must be commenced within 12 years after completion of construction of such improvement” to recover most forms of damages that are sought in these kinds of cases. A statute of repose is different than a statute of limitations. A statute of repose is a hard line that does not shift. There is no discovery rule with a statute of repose. Most, if not all, states have statutes of repose for construction. The Pennsylvania statute of repose is among the longest in the country. It can be even longer – up to 14 years – if the injury (including property damage) or wrongful death “shall occur more than 10 and within 12 years after completion of construction.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Mark L. Parisi, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Parisi may be contacted at parisim@whiteandwilliams.com

Builders Association Seeks to Cut Down Grassroots Green Building Program (Guest Post)

October 04, 2021 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
For this week’s year end Guest Post Friday here at Musings, we welcome Michael Anschel. Michael is the owner of Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build, a member of BATC, lead the development of and serves as a board member to MN GreenStar, the CEO of Verified Green, Inc., and writes the green blog for Remodeling Magazine Online. If you have been following the sad state of affairs in Minnesota recently (no not the elections) you might be scratching a bald spot on your head in amazement. To my knowledge it is the only state in which the local builders association [ www.batconline.org ] has actually sued the local Green building program (MN GreenStar [ www.mngreenstar.org ]; going as far as filing a restraining order to keep them from certifying any new homes in the state. This is, in my opinion, a tragic move in the wrong direction for everyone; builders and homeowners alike. The builders group widely know for The Parade of Homes claims to have no interest in using the program or the brand MN GreenStar, so why seek to shut the program down? Even the lawyers have been scratching their heads trying to make sense of this bizarre and highly aggressive move. And things just get more bizarre from there. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

Happenings in and around the West Coast Casualty Seminar

April 02, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
For those who are attending the West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar May 15th-16th, the Construction Defect Journal has compiled a list of concerts, sporting events, and museum exhibitions taking place in and around Anaheim that week. Whether you like to spend your personal time checking out a new band, or watching your favorite Angel slide into home, or perusing the local art museum, there is something to spark your interest. CONCERT VENUES THE HOUSE OF BLUES IN ANAHEIM Blessthefall with Silverstein, The Amity Affliction, SECRETS and Heartist Tuesday, May 13th, 2014 Doors Open at 6pm / Show Begins at 7pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets... THE HOUSE OF BLUES IN ANAHEIM Stephen "Ragga" Marley Saturday, May 17th, 2014 Doors Open at 8pm / Show Begins at 9pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets... THE GROVE OF ANAHEIM Lindsey Stirling plus special guest Dia Frampton Wednesday, May 14, 2014 Doors Open at 7pm / Show Begins at 8pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets... THE GROVE OF ANAHEIM Primal Fear Thursday, May 15, 2014 Doors Open at 6:30pm / Show Begins at 7pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets... THE GROVE OF ANAHEIM Jillian Michaels 'Maximize Your Life' Tour Friday, May 16, 2014 Doors Open at 6pm / Show begins at 8pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets... SPORTING EVENTS ANGEL’S STADIUM - BASEBALL The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v. Tampa Bay Rays Thursday, May 15th at 7:05pm Friday, May 16th at 7:05pm Saturday, May 17th at 6:05pm Sunday, May 18th at 12:35pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets... MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS MUZEO Transcending Trash: The Art of Upcycling Sat Apr 26 – Sun Aug 31, 2014 Museum Days/Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (Closed Mondays) / 10 am to 5 pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets... BOWERS MUSEUM (Santa Ana) BEETHOVEN: THE LATE GREAT February 8, 2014 - May 18, 2014 Museum Days/Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (Closed Mondays) / 10 am to 4 pm For More Information and to Purchase Tickets... Read the court decision
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CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES