Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Economic Damages Cannot be Based On Speculation

October 16, 2018 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Economic damages, unlike non-economic damages (such as those in personal injury disputes), need to rest on a reasonable basis. Economic damages are those routinely seen in a construction dispute. These damages cannot be based on conjecture or guesswork and need to be supported by competent substantial evidence. Otherwise, the economic damages will be deemed too speculative because they are not reasonably quantifiable. I recently discussed a case involving the professional boxer Canelo Alvarez that was sued by a former promoter for unjust enrichment. Although the promoter recovered a jury verdict for unjust enrichment damages against Canelo Alvarez, the verdict was reversed because the methodology utilized by the promoter to demonstrate damages was speculative. This is definitely not what a plaintiff wants to happen after prevailing at the trial level! Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

PCL Sues Big Bank for $30M in Claimed NJ Mall Unpaid Work

July 16, 2023 — Mary B. Powers - Engineering News-Record
Denver-based PCL Construction Services sued JPMorgan Chase Bank in federal court earlier this month for $30 million in claimed unpaid work and interest related to construction of a $5-billion northern New Jersey mall and entertainment center that also faces other financial challenges since its COVID-19-impacted opening in 2019. Reprinted courtesy of Mary B. Powers, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Liquidated Damages: A Dangerous Afterthought

January 15, 2019 — Trevor B. Potter - Construction Executive
Owners and contractors frequently treat liquidated damages provisions as an afterthought, but they deserve to be treated as a key deal term. If a contractor breaches a contract by failing to complete the work in a timely manner, the remedy is typically an agreed upon amount or rate of liquidated damages. Liquidated damages provisions seldom get more than a cursory, “back of the napkin” analysis, or worse, parties will simply plug in a number. This practice is dangerous because liquidated damages typically represent the owner’s sole remedy for delay and, more importantly, they are subject to attack and possible invalidation if certain legal standards are not met. The parties to a construction contract should never agree to an amount of liquidated damages without first attempting to forecast and calculate actual, potential damages. Reprinted courtesy of Trevor B. Potter, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Busting Major Alternative-Lending Myths

July 22, 2024 — Warren Miller - Construction Executive
Alternative capital is a broad term for financing provided by institutions or firms that typically fall outside of the purview of the larger, regulated institutions (i.e., not traditional banks). While these funding sources may not always be the first option for many businesses, alternative lending is a perfect option for many small and mid-sized capital-intensive companies, like construction companies, which often require fast access to capital that is incompatible with the stringent and laborious processes imposed by traditional banks. Construction companies should take a closer look at alternative financing, understand its benefits, and evaluate its usefulness for achieving their unique funding requirements. REALITY 1: ALTERNATIVE LENDING IS SAFE AND PROVEN Private lending has been around for a long time, and has become increasingly common since the 1990s, when major consolidation took place in the banking industry. As the large, consolidated banks set their sights on providing loans to large enterprises, they left a gap in the small and mid-size market that was filled by alternative lenders. By 2000, alternative lenders had overtaken traditional banks for the majority of corporate loans. Stricter regulation of banks following the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 intensified underwriting standards for bank loans and further diminished banks’ appetites for SMB lending. Reprinted courtesy of Warren Miller, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Consider Short-Term Lease Workouts For Commercial Tenants

August 17, 2020 — Steven Ostrow, C. Jason Kim & Patrick Haggerty - White and Williams
The COVID-19 pandemic is adversely affecting commercial real estate as it continues to wreak havoc in industries throughout the economy. For many years, the primary declining CRE sector has been brick and mortar retail stores. However, the retail sector is no longer suffering alone, as the COVID-19 outbreak is hurting most other CRE sectors: office, hospitality, multifamily, restaurant, personal services, entertainment and construction. Federal, state and local governments have ordered business shutdowns and social and travel restrictions limiting most social and commercial activities. As a result, commercial tenants throughout the country are going out of business, temporarily closing, curtailing operations, laying off employees and suffering sharply declining revenues. Short-Term Leasing Workouts of Tenant Defaults Thousands of tenants are partially operating or temporarily closed and lack sufficient cash flow or access to additional working capital to pay some or all of their rent. How should a landlord address a distressed tenant's default and request for rent relief, taking into account the landlord's own responsibilities to pay maintenance costs, real estate taxes and debt service on the property? Reprinted courtesy of White and Williams attorneys Steven Ostrow, C. Jason Kim and Patrick Haggerty Mr. Ostrow may be contacted at ostrows@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. Kim may be contacted at kimcj@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. Haggerty may be contacted at haggertyp@whiteandwilliams.com Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Dispute Over Amount Insured Owes Public Adjuster Resolved

January 14, 2025 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court addressed a dispute over fees that the insureds allegedly owed the public adjuster. Public' Adjuster's, LLC v. Mark Gottesdiener & Co., et al., 2024 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2352 (Conn. Super. Ct. Nov. 6. 2024). The insureds owned an apartment building that was substantially damaged by a fire. The building was insured by Quincy Mutual Group. The insureds signed a Public Adjuster Employment Contract with The Public's Adjuster, LLC (Adjuster). The contract authorized Adjuster to negotiate the reimbursable damages with Quincy on the insureds' behalf. Adjuster was to recover 8 1/2% of any amounts received by the insureds. Because of the extent of the fire damage, the work of negotiating a settlement with Quincy proved to be complex. Adjuster meticulously prepared several detained written estimates to by submitted to Quincy. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

The EPA’s Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule: Are Contractors Aware of It?

March 12, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Remodeling Magazine reported recently that some remodelers are unaware of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule despite that it took effect back in April of 2010. “There are still quite a few remodelers who have never heard of RRP,” Mark Schlager, president of Access Training Services, an EPA and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) trainer in Pennsauken, N.J. told Remodeling Magazine. According to the article, “The RRP rule applies to homes, apartments, and child-occupied commercial facilities built before 1978.” There are two RRP certifications required on every job: “a “Firm” certification for the company that contracts to do the work, and a “Renovator” certification for the person overseeing the work. A solo operator needs both certifications, which are good for five years.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Coverage for Faulty Workmanship Denied

June 29, 2020 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court found there was no coverage for the insureds' alleged negligent failure to construct a building. Evanston Ins. Co. v. DCM Contracting, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63977 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 28, 2020). Turning Point Church sued DCM Contracting for faulty workmanship on a construction project. Turning Point sent a demand letter to DCM on August 18, 2017 and filed suit in December. Evanston did not receive notice of Turning Point's claims and the lawsuit until May 15, 2018. Evanston filed suit for a declaratory judgment and moved for summary judgment. The court first considered the late notice. The policy required notice "as soon as practicable" DCM was also required to provide copies of demands, notices, or legal papers to Evanston. Here, DCM did not give notice to Evanston until nine months after receipt of Turning Point's demand. A phone communication with DCM's agent between August 2017 and May 2018 was insufficient. DCM provided no documents, including the summons and complaint, to the agent. DCM waited five months to forward the underlying lawsuit. This was a breach of the policy. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES