SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Subcontractors Essential to Home Building Industry

February 14, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Eye on Housing reports that subcontractors are essential to the home building industry—a point that is often overlooked by those outside of the industry. According to the NAHB, “71 percent of those employed in the home building industry are subcontractors.” The average number of subcontractors used in single-family detached homes in 2012 was twenty-five, however larger builders used more subcontractors: “On average, builders who built more than 25 units used 32 subcontractors during 2012, compared to 23 for builders who built less than 25 units.” Read the court decision
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Best Practices After Receiving Notice of a Construction Claim

July 18, 2022 — Lauren Meadows - Construction Executive
Being served with a lawsuit is typically not a welcomed experience. However, a construction professional that has been proactive in an early investigation of the claim will be better equipped to defend the case. The following best practices should be used by construction professionals as soon as a potential claim becomes evident. Notify Immediately after the receipt of a claim or notice of an incident, efforts should be made to notify all essential parties. This includes any potential insurers that may provide coverage for the claim as well as any parties to whom notice may be required or warranted under the project contract and/or scope of work. Some construction contracts contain an insurance clause that requires one party to provide additional insured coverage under its liability policy to another party. Notice should be given to any insurer that potentially provides additional insured coverage as soon as possible. The failure to provide an insurance company with prompt notice of a potential claim could result in the denial of the claim. Reprinted courtesy of Lauren Meadows, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Fannie-Freddie Propose Liquidity Rules for Mortgage Insurers

July 16, 2014 — Clea Benson and Zachary Tracer – Bloomberg
Ms. Benson may be contacted at cbenson20@bloomberg.net; Mr. Tracer may be contacted at ztracer1@bloomberg.net Private mortgage insurers looking to do business with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have to hold minimum amounts of liquid assets under standards proposed by the companies and their regulator. To back loans packaged into securities by the U.S.-owned mortgage-finance giants, insurers would have to hold liquid assets worth at least 5.6 percent of their risk exposure, and possibly more depending on the quality of the loans they cover, according to the proposal released today by the companies and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. “Mortgage insurance counterparties must be able to fulfill their intended role of providing private capital, even in adverse market conditions,” FHFA Director Melvin L. Watt said in an e-mailed statement. Ms. Benson may be contacted at cbenson20@bloomberg.net; Mr. Tracer may be contacted at ztracer1@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Clea Benson and Zachary Tracer, Bloomberg

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FDOT Races to Re-Open Storm-Damaged Pensacola Bridge

April 12, 2021 — Jim Parsons - Engineering News-Record
Buffeted by hurricanes, northwest Florida’s largest-ever infrastructure effort is finally seeing the light at the end of the storm. The three-mile-long bridge across Pensacola Bay is expected to reopen to traffic this spring after an ongoing replacement effort abruptly became an emergency repair job as well. Reprinted courtesy of Jim Parsons, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Construction Defect Litigation in Nevada Called "Out of Control"

February 04, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
KXNT Las Vegas's Trevor Smith reports that Las Vegas alone has more than 500 pending construction defect cases. The issue of construction defects in Nevada will be taken up by the Nevada Legislature. Smith spoke with Mike Dillon, the executive director of the Builders Association of Northern Nevada. BANN is supporting legislation that Dillon says will "protect homeowners and secondly it's going to put people back to work." Dillon noted that "construction is the second largest industry in the state." Dillon attributed some of the construction defect litigation to the state's building codes. Read the court decision
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Lawsuits over Roof Dropped

December 04, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
An Iowa roofing contractor has dropped its lawsuit over a contract to re-roof a condominium complex. The condominium association has dropped its counterclaim against the roofer. Hansel Construction alleged that the Harbourage Owners Association failed to fulfill the contract’s provisions, which prevented Hansel Construction from fulfilling its contract. Further, Hansel alleged that it had expenses, losses, and damages, as a result of Harbourage’s actions. In response, Harbourage sued James Hansel. Now, both lawsuits have been dismissed by the parties. Read the court decision
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AB5 Construction Exemption – A Checklist to Avoid Application of AB5’s Three-Part Test

February 18, 2020 — Blake Dillion - Payne & Fears LLP
Construction companies have a unique opportunity to avoid the application of the restrictive new independent contractors law that took effect this year. This article provides a checklist that will help construction companies determine whether their relationships with subcontractors qualify for this exemption. California’s Assembly Bill 5 (“AB5”), which went into effect Jan. 1, 2020, enacts into a statute last year’s California Supreme Court decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, 4 Cal. 5th 903 (2018), and the Court’s three-part standard (the “ABC test”) for determining whether a worker may be classified as an employee or an independent contractor. Certain professions and industries are potentially exempt from this standard, including the construction industry. The ABC test does not apply to the relationship between a contractor and an individual performing work pursuant to a subcontractor in the construction industry, if certain criteria are met. In order for the “construction exemption” to apply, the contractor must demonstrate that all of the following criteria are satisfied.

1. The subcontract is in writing;
2. The subcontractor is licensed by the Contractors State License Board and the work is within the scope of that license;
3. If the subcontractor is domiciled in a jurisdiction that requires the subcontractor to have a business license or business tax registration, the subcontractor has the required business license or business tax registration;
4. The subcontractor maintains a business location that is separate from the business or work location of the contractor;
5. The subcontractor has the authority to hire and to fire other persons to provide or assist in providing the services;
6. The subcontractor assumes financial responsibility for errors or omissions in labor or services as evidenced by insurance, legally authorized indemnity obligations, performance bonds, or warranties relating to the labor or services being provided; and
7. The subcontractor is customarily engaged in an independently established business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.

The contractor must be able to establish each of the above criteria for the construction exemption to apply. If the contractor is successful, the long standing multi-factor test for determining independent contractor vs. employee status as described in S.G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Dep’t of Industrial Relations, 48 Cal. 3d 341 (1989) will apply. You should review your processes and procedures for engaging subcontractors to ensure that you can satisfy the above criteria. If you have questions about the application of AB5, the construction exemption, or the Borello factors, you should speak with an attorney. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Blake A. Dillion, Payne & Fears
Mr. Dillion may be contacted at bad@paynefears.com

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Houston Office Secures Favorable Verdict in Trespass and Nuisance Case Involving Subcontractor’s Accidental Installation of Storm Sewer Pipe on Plaintiff’s Property

June 12, 2023 — Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
Houston, Texas (May 26, 2023) - Houston Partners Joelle Nelson and Matt Begley secured a defense verdict on behalf of a gasoline services company following a four-day trial in the 284th District Court of Montgomery County, Texas. In this case, Lewis Brisbois represented a client who hired a contractor to install a storm sewer line to mitigate flood risks to the client’s property. The contractor, however, deviated from the engineering plans and installed the storm sewer line on a neighboring property owned by the plaintiff. The storm sewer line then remained on the plaintiff’s property for five years while the parties attempted to negotiate potential solutions to the situation. The plaintiff refused multiple reasonable settlement attempts and ultimately sued the client and the contractor for continuous trespass and private nuisance. The contractor’s carrier denied coverage, making the client the target defendant. The matter proceeded to trial. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

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