Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Home Building Mergers and Acquisitions 2014 Predictions

March 19, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
John McManus, writing for Big Builder, discusses the various predictions for mergers and acquisitions in the home building field for 2014. While predictions vary between individuals, it seems to hover between 15 and 30. McManus lists several home building seller motivations, such as a “[n]eed for cash infusion to buy and develop new lot pipeline” and “[s]uccession planning.” Finally, McManus points out that not every merger and acquisition discussion will lead to a deal: “We've recently seen a combination or three flounder on the issue of price. This occurs partly as the home builder buyer community becomes more discriminating as to what truly fits their program, and partly as smaller builders attain options as regional and national lenders awaken and look to reenter project financing in a bigger way.” Read the court decision
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Parking Garage Collapse May Be Due to Construction Defect

November 07, 2012 — CDJ STAFF
A parking garage under construction at the Doral campus of Miami Dade College collapsed on October 9. Experts state that the collapse may have been due to errors in the construction process, either in the fabrication of the pre-cast components or in their assembly. The Bradenton Herald quotes Mark Santos, a structural engineer, who “would look at erection procedures – that’s probably the one question to ask first.” During the failure, floors separated from the south wall of the structure. The contractor responsible for the garage, Ajax Building Corp, said there was “no indication of any potential cause.” Read the court decision
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Thank Your Founding Fathers for Mechanic’s Liens

August 04, 2015 — Craig Martin – Construction Contract Advisor
Yep, our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison specifically, Craig Martin, Construction Attorney Lamson Dugan & Murray LLPwere responsible for proposing the first mechanic’s lien laws in the United States. Mechanic’s liens were not a new concept when the first law was passed in the United States; France, Spain and other countries already had them. But, in England, where landownership was limited to the upper classes, the concept of giving a tradesman an interest in the land for his labors was a truly foreign concept. The Early Years—Pre Mechanic Lien In the 1700s, there was no right to a mechanic’s lien. The possession of land was never deemed to be changed by its improvement and the laborer or material supplier was held to have acquired no right of lien in the property. The only remedy the laborer or material supplier had was to bring an action against the land owner. If the laborer or material supplier obtained a judgment, he would acquire the lien of a judgment creditor. A Treatise on the law of Mechanics’ Liens on Real and Person Property, 1893. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Craig Martin, Lamson, Dugan and Murray, LLP
Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@ldmlaw.com

Traub Lieberman Attorneys Recognized as 2024 “Top Lawyers” in New York by Hudson Valley Magazine

July 15, 2024 — Traub Lieberman
Traub Lieberman is pleased to announce four New York partners have been included in the 2024 edition of the Hudson Valley Magazine "Top Lawyers in the Hudson Valley in 2024.” This annual guide recognizes over 260 of the region's leading attorneys. Lisa Shrewsberry, Hillary Raimondi and Jonathan Harwood are noted for their professional skills in the category of Professional Malpractice Non-Medical Defense and Copernicus “Cope” Gaza in the Insurance category. Insurance:

Copernicus T. Gaza

Professional Malpractice Non Medical Defense:

Jonathan R. Harwood
Hillary J. Raimondi
Lisa L. Shrewsberry

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New York Appeals Court Rekindles the Spark

March 16, 2017 — Lian Skaf - White and Williams LLP
In John Trimble, et al. v. City of Albany, et al., 2016, 144 A.D.3d 1484; 42 N.Y.S. 3d 432 (N.Y. App. Div.), the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, addressed the issue of governmental immunity for municipal fire companies. The court held that the plaintiff, John Trimble (Trimble), had sufficient evidence related to the four-pronged test for establishing a “special relationship” between a municipality and a citizen for liability to attach. In addition, the court held that the defendants were not entitled to summary judgment on the issue of governmental immunity. Specifically, regarding the latter holding, the court stated that, when there is no actual choice made on the part of the government, the government’s actions cannot be considered discretionary and immunity will not apply. In the case at hand, a fire occurred at Trimble’s home on the evening of February 2, 2013. Trimble called 911 and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services for the City of Albany (the Department) responded. After extinguishing the fire, the Department conducted an investigation and cleared the home. The Department’s investigators then told Trimble that the fire was extinguished and it was safe to enter the home. Trimble did so, removing some items so that he could stay with relatives that night. Several hours later, there was a rekindle and the rekindled fire destroyed the home. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Lian Skaf, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Skaf may be contacted at skafl@whiteandwilliams.com

Lithium for Batteries from Geothermal Brine

July 08, 2024 — Robert A. James, Sidney L. Fowler & Clarence H. Tolliver - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
If all goes as planned, solar, wind and other clean energy technologies will help us abandon carbon emissions for good. But many green power sources perform their best only when nature cooperates, so an important (and sometimes overlooked) component of the energy transition is the ability to store electricity for a rainy or calm day. Lithium is the ingredient of choice for electric vehicle batteries, solar panels and grid elements. As these innovations ramp up, lithium demand is expected to soar by 90% over the next two decades, driving a surge in production efforts. Some experts predict a deficit in the mineral by as soon as 2025. Predominant mining and extraction processes can be detrimental to the surrounding air, soil and water, in contrast to the environmentally friendly intentions of the lithium applications. But another type of renewable energy may be able to provide a solution. Hydrothermal brine, a high-saline water mixture found deep within the Earth’s crust, contains lithium-rich deposits that have leached from heated rocks into underground water. Geothermal power players employing hydrothermal brine are spearheading plans to extract the valuable resource in a cleaner and more sustainable manner. Reprinted courtesy of Robert A. James, Pillsbury, Sidney L. Fowler, Pillsbury and Clarence H. Tolliver, Pillsbury Mr. James may be contacted at rob.james@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Fowler may be contacted at sidney.fowler@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Tolliver may be contacted at clarence.tolliver@pillsburylaw.com Read the court decision
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Notice of Claim Sufficient to Invoke Coverage

August 06, 2014 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
Indirect notice to the insurer was sufficient to trigger coverage for the additional insured under a liability policy. Spoleta Constr., LLC v. Aspen Ins. UK Ltd., 2014 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5174 (N.Y. App. Div. July 11, 2014). An employee of the subcontractor was injured at the construction project on October 20, 2008. The general contractor was named as an additional insured on the subcontractor's CGL policy with Aspen. Under the subcontract, the subcontractor also agreed to defend and indemnify the general contractor for all claims arising out of the subcontractor's work. The general contractor did not receive notice of the accident until late December 2009 in a letter from the injured employee's attorney. On January 27, 2010, the general contractor's liability carrier sent a letter to the subcontractor giving notice of the employee's claim and requesting that the subcontractor put its carrier on notice. On February 9, 2010, the subcontractor sent to Aspen a claim form with the January 2010 letter attached. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

ZLien Startup has Discovered a Billion in Payments for Clients

March 19, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The New Orleans startup company zlien “tracks liens for contractors through an online service” and has “secured more than $1 billion in payments for clients on 33,000 construction projects” according to its founder Scott Wolfe, as reported by The Times-Picayune. When Wolfe practiced law, he noticed “an absence of any centralized service to help firms comply with lien procedures.” Wolfe “saw construction companies hiring small operators, in what he called ‘a very manual, service business,’ to track liens in different states, running the process inconsistently or failing to collect on some liens at all.” Wolfe has entered zlien into “New Orleans Entrepreneur Week on March 28 for the Coulter IDEAPitch, a business competition in front of what The Idea Village organizers describe as an invitation-only audience of ‘world-class investors’ focused on ventures with high growth prospects.” Wolfe told The Times-Picayune that “not getting paid is a central problem in construction. That is something that really strains the construction industry." Read the court decision
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FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES