Columbus Ohio Building Expert Directory

Foundation Differences Across the U.S.

October 15, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing analyzed data from the Survey of Construction (SOC) to demonstrate the differences in foundations built across the nation. For instance, “about 30 percent of new single-family homes started in 2013 have a full or partial basement, 54 percent are built on slabs, and 15 percent have a crawl space. The remaining share, including homes built on stilts or pilings, accounted for about 1 percent of homes started in 2013.” Climate is the deciding factor in what type of foundations are used, Eye on Housing reported. “In colder regions where codes require foundations to be deep the marginal cost of providing a full or partial basement is not that great. So basements are the most common type of foundation in the colder climate divisions.” The warm climate area of the West South Central division are primarily built on slabs. However, “the other two divisions that make up the South region – the East South Central and South Atlantic –are still largely built on slabs but crawl spaces are also common.” Read the court decision
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Congratulations to Wilke Fleury’s 2024 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars!!

July 15, 2024 — Wilke Fleury LLP
Wilke Fleury is extremely proud that several of its incredible attorneys have been selected as 2024 Northern California Super Lawyers or Rising Stars! Super Lawyers rates attorneys in each state using a patented selection process and publishes a yearly magazine issue that produces award-winning features on selected attorneys. Congratulations to this talented group: 2024 Super Lawyers:

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Reprinted courtesy of Wilke Fleury LLP

Skyline Bling: A $430 Million Hairpin Tower and Other Naked Bids for Tourism

January 21, 2015 — Toluse Olorunnipa – Bloomberg
American cities are starting an architectural arms race to the sky with super-sized Ferris wheels, a 100-story observation tower and maybe even a mammoth golf ball atop a 300-foot tee planted in the Arizona desert. From Phoenix to Camden, New Jersey, city officials and developers are seeking to punctuate their skylines with exclamation points, vying for the world’s attention with the next Eiffel Tower or London Eye. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Toluse Olorunnipa, Bloomberg
Mr. Olorunnipa may be contacted at tolorunnipa@bloomberg.net

Nevada Budget Remains at Impasse over Construction Defect Law

June 01, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

Negotiations for the Nevada state budget have stalled over proposals to amend the state’s construction defect laws. Assembly Republicans had offered changes to the law to make it friendlier to contractors; however, after a state Supreme Court ruling that the state could not move a local government entity’s funds into state coffers, pressure has increased on the governor to lift the expiration dates of taxes approved in 2009.

The Reno Gazette-Journal quotes John Madole, a construction industry lobbyist, “We agree with them that you have to address the issue of the attorney fees, and for all practical purposes, they are automatically awarded when anybody brings any kind of suit.”

Speaker of the Assembly, John Oceguera, a Democrat, has proposed a bill that “makes it absolutely crystal clear that the only time you get attorney's fees is if you're the prevailing party.”

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SEC Climate Change Disclosure Letter Foreshadows Anticipated Regulatory Changes

November 08, 2021 — Karen C. Bennett & Jane C. Luxton - Lewis Brisbois
Washington, D.C. (October 13, 2021) - In late September 2021, the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Sample Letter providing guidance to companies on how their climate disclosures will be analyzed for compliance with material risk reporting obligations. The Sample Letter precedes the SEC’s issuance of mandatory climate-related disclosure rules anticipated by year-end and signals a greater focus on specific information used to support securities filings, a development that businesses should take seriously. The Sample Letter builds on climate change guidance the SEC issued in 2010 and identifies nine categories of disclosures the SEC suggests may be material risks that must be disclosed. These include:

Consistency between a company’s corporate social responsibility report and its SEC filings;
Risks associated with climate-related legislation, regulation, or policy, and resulting compliance costs;
Litigation risks related to climate change; and
Risks linked to an array of operational and market factors, including capital expenditures, continuity of business operations, supply chain stability, changing demand, reputation, availability of credit and insurance, and other climate-change related potential impacts on the financial condition of the company.

Reprinted courtesy of Karen C. Bennett, Lewis Brisbois and Jane C. Luxton, Lewis Brisbois Ms. Bennett may be contacted at Karen.Bennett@lewisbrisbois.com Ms. Luxton may be contacted at Jane.Luxton@lewisbrisbois.com Read the court decision
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Two Firm Members Among the “Best Lawyers in America”

September 01, 2016 — A&C Crew – Ahlers & Cressman PLLC
We are excited to announce that John P. Ahlers has been selected as a “Lawyer of the Year” in Construction Law, and John P. Ahlers and Paul R. Cressman, Jr. have been selected as “Best Lawyers in America” in Construction Litigation by Best Lawyers for 2017. Best Lawyers has recognized Mr. Ahlers and Mr. Cressman as “Best Lawyers in America” since 2007 and 2013, respectively. Read the court decision
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Wonder How 2021 May Differ From 2020? Federal Data Privacy May Be Enacted - Be Prepared

February 22, 2021 — Joshua Bevitz - Newmeyer Dillion
State data privacy laws, which are far from uniform, are on the rise. To address that, as well the public’s increasing concern with protecting their private information, it is expected that there will be a serious effort in Congress this year to enact federal data privacy legislation. Here is what you need to know to ensure your business is ready for potential federal regulation. Applicable State Laws As is widely known, some states have recently enacted data privacy legislation to protect consumers. For example, in early 2020, California’s new privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), took effect, giving consumers more discretion regarding over how companies share and use their personal information. (For years, California already had in place its Database Security Breach Notification Act.) More recently, California enacted the California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act (CPRA), which amends and strengthens the CCPA. Other states, such as Maine, Nevada, New York, Oregon, and Washington, have enacted their own data privacy legislation. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Joshua Bevitz, Newmeyer Dillion
Mr. Bevitz may be contacted at joshua.bevitz@ndlf.com

Tennessee Civil Engineers Give the State's Infrastructure a "C" Grade

December 05, 2022 — American Society of Civil Engineers
NASHVILLE, TN. — The Tennessee Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released the 2022 Report Card for Tennessee's Infrastructure today, with 13 categories of infrastructure receiving an overall grade of a 'C', the same grade given by the section in its 2016 report. That means Tennessee's infrastructure is in mediocre condition and requires attention, but is a step ahead of the national average of "C-" given in the 2021 Report Card for America's Infrastructure. Tennessee's freight network is strong and plays a major role in the national economy as a key mobility hub and its energy grid has been reliable, allowing families and businesses to operate efficiently. Many of the state's systems are performing at or above national averages; however, a surge in population growth, increasingly severe weather impacts, and insufficient data on the current condition of several infrastructure sectors threaten the long-term viability of the state's overall network. Civil engineers graded aviation (C+), bridges (B), dams (D+), drinking water (C+), energy (C+), inland waterways (C), parks (C+), rail (C), roads (C), solid waste (C+), stormwater (C+), transit (D+), and wastewater (C-). "As one of the most prominent mobility hubs in all of America, infrastructure is the backbone to all we do here in Memphis, and everything we can accomplish throughout the great state of Tennessee," said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. "Our airports, roads and bridges keep our economy flowing, drawing more jobs and businesses in the future. The ASCE report is a critical tool for tracking our progress, in addition to highlighting where we could use some work. With more people flocking to Tennessee than ever before, this is an exciting time and our infrastructure networks must be ready to help us capitalize on the opportunity." To view the report card and all five categories, visit https://infrastructurereportcard.org/state-item/tennessee/. ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel. Read the court decision
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COLUMBUS OHIO BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES