Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

The 2017 ASCDC and CDCMA Construction Defect Seminar and Holiday Reception

November 21, 2017 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The annual Construction Defect Seminar and Holiday Reception presented jointly by the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (ASCDC) and the Construction Defect Claims Managers Association (CDCMA) takes place this November 30th at the Hilton Costa Mesa. This one-day seminar includes two sessions: Session 1, Recent developments in Insurance Coverage and Related Impacts on Case Resolution; Session 2, Impact of Design Claims in Construction Defect Actions. A holiday reception will immediately follow the seminar. The keynote speaker this year is Hon. Charles Margines, Presiding Judge of the Orange Superior Court. Other speakers include David Napper, Esq., of Chapman Glucksman Dean Roeb & Barger, Adrienne Cohen, Esq., Law Offices of Adrienne D. Cohen, Blenda Eyvazzadeh, Chub North American Claims, and many others. This activity has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education Credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of 3.0 hours. November 30th, 2017 Hilton Costa Mesa 3050 Bristol Street Costa Mesa, California 92626 United States PDF Registration... Online Registration... Read the court decision
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Mississippi Supreme Court Addresses Earth Movement Exclusion

December 09, 2019 — Anthony Hatzilabrou - Traub Lieberman
Recently, the Mississippi Supreme Court held that structural damages to the foundation of an insured’s home came within the earth movement exclusion in a homeowner’s policy, notwithstanding a provision in the policy which provided coverage for water damage resulting “from accidental discharge or overflow of water … from within … [p]lumbing, heating, air condition or household appliance.” In Mississippi Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co. v. Smith, 264 So. 3d 737 (Miss. 2019), the appellee, Smith, filed a lawsuit against her homeowner's insurance company, Mississippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company (“Farm Bureau”) for its refusal to pay for repairs to the foundation of Smith’s home. Smith alleged that the refusal to pay for repairs amounted to breach of contract and asserted claims for bad faith and tortious breach of contract. In response, Farm Bureau filed a motion for summary judgment on the basis of the policy’s earth-movement exclusion, which provided that Farm Bureau “did not insure for loss caused directly or indirectly by…Earth Movement…[which] means…[a]ny other earth movement including earth sinking, rising or shifting... caused by or resulting from human or animal forces.” Smith filed a cross-motion for partial summary judgment on the basis that the earth-movement exclusion did not preclude coverage because her insurance policy also contained a clause expressly covering water damage. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anthony Hatzilabrou, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Hatzilabrou may be contacted at thatzilabrou@tlsslaw.com

Chinese Demand Rush for Australia Homes to Stay, Ausin Says

August 06, 2014 — Nichola Saminather – Bloomberg
Ausin Group (Finance) Pty, which offers property and mortgage broking in Australia to Chinese buyers, expects to sell two-thirds more homes and to double the amount of loans it arranges as demand from the mainland surges. The company forecasts A$1.5 billion ($1.4 billion) in sales of new residential properties in the year ending June 30, compared with A$900 million over the previous 12 months, Sydney-based Managing Director Joseph Zaja said in an interview yesterday. The value of mortgages the closely held company arranges through Australian banks is expected to climb to A$500 million in the 2015 calendar year, he said. Ausin is benefiting from surging demand from China, where the housing market is faltering. Chinese purchasers overtook Americans to become the biggest buyers of real estate in Australia in the 12 months through June 2013, plowing A$5.9 billion into commercial and residential property, a 42 percent increase from the previous 12 months. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Nichola Saminather, Bloomberg
Ms. Saminather may be contacted at nsaminather1@bloomberg.net

New Jersey’s Proposed Construction Defect Law May Not Cover Everything

December 11, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
New Jersey is considering a new law that would make explicit that construction defects are accidents under a commercial general liability policy. But the site GreenBuildingConstructionLaw points out that it wouldn’t necessarily be the last word on things. The bill “does not obligate insurers to provide coverage for construction defects.” Exclusions could still come from “the various ‘business risk’ exclusions commonly found in commercial general liability policies, such as the ‘your work’ or ‘insured product’ exclusions.” The writer concludes that “contractors seeking coverage under the policies (and their insurers seeking to disclaim coverage), however, will still need to litigate the issue of whether the alleged property damage is covered by the insuring clause, and if it is, whether the various exclusions apply.” Read the court decision
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Congratulations to Partner Nicole Whyte on Being Chosen to Receive The 2024 ADL’s Marcus Kaufman Jurisprudence Award

May 28, 2024 — Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP is proud to announce Founder/CEO Nicole Whyte has been chosen by the Orange County/Long Beach region of the Anti-Defamation League (“ADL”) to receive the 2024 ADL’s Marcus Kaufman Jurisprudence Award. The ADL annual Jurisprudence Dinner, at which Nicole will be honored along with the Hon. Kirk Nakamura (retired) and Michael Ermer, will be held on Thursday, September 19, 2024, at the Turnip Rose Promenade in Costa Mesa. Congratulations to Nicole for her lifetime of service not only to Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP but also to the larger community. Immediate past recipients include Brian Farrell, the Hon. Glenda Sanders (retired), and Eric Trout. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

Virginia Chinese Drywall and pollution exclusion

May 27, 2011 — CDCoverage.com

In Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. The Overlook, LLC, No. 4:10cv69 (E.D. Va. May 13, 2011), homeowner Edmonds sued insured developer/general contractor Overlook seeking damages resulting from defective Chinese drywall installed in Edmonds’ home. Overlook’s CGL insurer Nationwide defended Overlook under a reservation of rights and filed a declaratory judgment action. The federal district trial court granted Nationwide’s motion for summary judgment.

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Reprinted courtesy of CDCoverage.com

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Differences in Types of Damages Matter

June 22, 2016 — Christopher G. Hill – Construction Law Musings
Over the last 7 and a half years (yes I have been doing this for that long), I have often “mused” on various contractual provisions and their application. Why? Because the contract matters and will be enforced. Provisions like “no damages for delay” and “pay if paid” litter construction contracts and will be enforced if properly drafted. These types of clauses affect whether and what types of damages you as a construction company can collect. Of course, these clauses have their limitations. For instance, and as pointed out by my pal Matt DeVries at his great Best Practices Construction Law blog, not all damages that a subcontractor or general contractor may attribute to coordination or other scheduling related issues are “delay damages” to which a “no damages for delay” clause may apply. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Christopher G. Hill, Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

West Virginia Couple Claim Defects in Manufactured Home

November 20, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Douglas and Brenda Hess bought a manufactured home from Freedom Homes. Freedom Homes also hired workers to construct the basement and foundation, as well as install the home. Now the Hesses are claiming that the due to the installers, their home was damaged and that they cannot use it. They claim that the defendants refuse to repair the damage, and also claim a variety of things including negligence, frustration of purpose, and the intentional infliction of emotional distress. Read the court decision
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