Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Colorado Homebuyers Must be in Privity of Contract with Developer to Assert Breach of Implied Warranty of Suitability

May 03, 2017 — Maggie Stewart - Colorado Construction Litigation
On April 17, 2017, the Colorado Supreme Court announced its decision in Forest City v. Rogers, No. 15SC1089, 2017 CO 23 (Colo. Apr. 17, 2017). The Court held that privity of contract is necessary for a homebuyer to assert a claim for breach of implied warranty of suitability against a developer. In other words, one must be a party to a contract to pursue a claim for breach of any implied warranty of suitability therein. Defendant Forest City was the developer of a mixed use property in Stapleton. Forest City subdivided the land and sold the vacant lot at issue to a professional builder, Infinity. Infinity then built a residence and sold it to the plaintiff, Tad Rogers. After moving into the home, Rogers came to believe that the water table beneath the house along with calcite leaching from the road material led to a buildup of calcite in the foundation drain, making the basement uninhabitable and causing the sump pump to work overtime. Rogers sued Forest City on various theories, including breach of the warranty of suitability. In particular, Rogers alleged that Forest City impliedly warranted to him that his lot was suitable for a home with a finished basement, when in fact it was not. He prevailed on this claim at the trial court level. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Maggie Stewart, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
Ms. Stewart may be contacted at stewart@hhmrlaw.com

North Carolina, Tennessee Prepare to Start Repairing Helene-damaged Interstates

October 07, 2024 — Derek Lacey - Engineering News-Record
Damage from Hurricane Helene to interstates between North Carolina and Tennessee includes washed-out roads and bridges, landslides and extensive flooding—creating a long list of repair work needed for state transportation agencies as they prepare to rebuilding critical highways across the Appalachian Mountains. Reprinted courtesy of Derek Lacey, Engineering News-Record Mr. Lacey may be contacted at laceyd@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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California’s One-Action Rule May Apply to Federal Lenders

June 09, 2016 — Anthony J. Carucci – Snell & Wilmer Real Estate Litigation Blog
California’s one-action rule provides that “[t]here can be but one form of action for the recovery of any debt or the enforcement of any right secured by mortgage upon real property or an estate for years therein . . . .” Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 726(a). In other words, the one-action rule prescribes that the only process for recovery of a debt secured by a mortgage or deed of trust is to foreclose on the lien. The rule aims to prevent a multiplicity of actions and vexatious litigation, and to force a beneficiary to look to all of the security as the primary fund for payment of a debt before looking to the trustor’s other assets. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anthony J. Carucci, Snell & Wilmer
Mr. Carucci may be contacted at acarucci@swlaw.com

World’s Biggest Crane Gets to Work at British Nuclear Plant

October 07, 2019 — Jeremy Hodges - Bloomberg
The world’s largest crane is getting ready to hoist more than 700 of the heaviest pieces of the first new nuclear plant being built in Britain in decades. The machine, affectionately known as “Big Carl” after an executive at Belgian owner Sarens NV, is in place at Electricite de France SA’s 19.6 billion-pound ($24.1 billion) Hinkley Point C project in southwest England. It can carry as much as 5,000 tons, or the same weight as 1,600 cars, in a single lift and arrived on 280 truck loads from Belgium. It has taken about three months to build. Nuclear power makes up about a fifth of Britain’s electricity. Most of those plants are near the end of their lives and will close in the next decade. Replacing them won’t be easy—as the scale of the project shows. Earlier this year, EDF poured 9,000 cubic meters of cement, the biggest single biggest pour of concrete ever recorded in Britain. It was reinforced by 5,000 tons of steel built into a nest 4 meters high that’ll serve as the base of the first new reactor in the U.K. since 1995. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jeremy Hodges, Bloomberg

Cameron Kalunian to Speak at Casualty Construction Defect Seminar

October 04, 2021 — Cameron Kalunian - Lewis Brisbois
Los Angeles Partner Cameron Kalunian will speak at the Annual West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar, hosted on October 6-8 at the Aria Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. In a session on Friday, October 8 at 9:30 a.m. PT titled “Maintaining Relationships in the Storm of Multi-Party Construction Litigation,” Mr. Kalunian, along with one construction general counsel and one insurance coverage counsel, will discuss the impact of litigation on continuing business relationships. The session will specifically focus on balancing risk transfer with business goals in the context of multi-tiered contractor construction projects. The panel will discuss the best practices for communications between and among clients, indemnitors, claims handling professional, coverage counsel and defense counsel. This session is a must for insurance professionals that handle claims involving bodily injury or property damage claims arising out of construction disputes related to projects with multi-tiered contractors. CLE credits will be available for attorneys, along with CEU credits for insurance claims handlers. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Cameron Kalunian, Lewis Brisbois
Mr. Kalunian may be contacted at Cameron.Kalunian@lewisbrisbois.com

Brazil Congress Chiefs Deny Wrongdoing in Petrobras Scandal

March 12, 2015 — Raymond Colitt, Anna Edgerton and Sabrina Valle – Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s congressional heads denied involvement in the country’s largest corruption scandal after being named among dozens of politicians for investigation. Renan Calheiros and Eduardo Cunha, the heads of the Senate and lower house respectively, and Rio de Janeiro Senator Lindbergh Farias all rejected allegations of graft in the kickback scheme dubbed Carwash. Farias told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper in an interview published Sunday that while he may have acted improperly, his actions weren’t illegal. The senator said he took a 2 million real-donation ($650,000) from Andrade Gutierrez SA, a Rio-based construction company. Reprinted courtesy of Bloomberg reporters Raymond Colitt, Anna Edgerton and Sabrina Valle Mr. Colitt may be contacted at rcolitt@bloomberg.net Ms. Edgerton may be contacted at aedgerton@bloomberg.net Ms. Valle may be contacted at svalle@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
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Atlanta Office Wins Defense Verdict For Property Manager On Claims By Vendor, Cross-Claims By Property Owner

January 08, 2024 — Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
Atlanta, Ga. (December 18, 2023) – Atlanta Partner Adi Allushi and Associate Cecilia Walker recently secured a defense verdict for a national property management corporation on claims brought by a vendor and cross-claims lodged by the property owner. Lewis Brisbois’ client is a national corporation, over a century old, that managed over 140 properties with 40,000 units. In 2019, the client entered the Georgia market managing three apartment complexes owned by a hedge fund in New York. The owner terminated without cause the client within six months, and several vendors – including the plaintiff, who was a remedial services provider – were not paid during the last few months and the transition period. The plaintiff sued the owner for the unpaid services, as well as an incorrect entity it believed to be the client. The owner cross-claimed against the client for fraudulent misrepresentations. Based on the misnomer statute, the court granted default judgment against the client. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

Colorado SB 15-177 UPDATE: Senate Business, Labor, & Technology Committee Refers Construction Defect Reform Bill to Full Senate

April 01, 2015 — Derek J. Lindenschmidt – Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
On March 18th, following a lengthy hearing with testimony and questioning for and against Senate Bill 15-177, the Senate Business, Labor & Technology Committee voted 6 to 2 to refer the bill, with new amendments, to the full Senate. While the main points of the bill remain strongly intact (check here for Senate Bill 177’s particulars), bill sponsors Senators Scheffler and Ulibarri offered four amendments, designed to bring additional compromise and clarity to the bill. The committee ultimately adopted these amendments, described below. Amendment 16 removed a prior prohibition in the bill that would have prevented attorneys from assisting in the preparation of the notice required to be provided to all homeowners before the commencement of a construction defect claim. Amendment 19 complemented 16 by providing further clarification regarding the contents and specificities required in said notice, including a disclosure of projected attorneys’ fees, costs, duration, and financial impact of pursuing construction defect claims. Amendment 17 permitted homeowners to approve the pursuit of construction defect claims through written consent. Lastly, Amendment 18 provided clarification regarding the bill’s requirement that mediators and arbitrators be selected and approved through mutual agreement of the parties. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Derek J. Lindenschmidt, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
Mr. Lindenschmidt may be contacted at lindenschmidt@hhmrlaw.com

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