National Engineering and Public Works Roadshow Highlights Low Battery Seawall Restoration Project in Charleston
April 29, 2024 —
Engineering and Public Works RoadshowCHARLESTON, SC — On Thursday, the nationwide Engineering and Public Works Roadshow stopped at the Low Battery Seawall Restoration Project in Charleston. The event highlighted the role engineers and public works professionals play in infrastructure projects like the local seawall improvements that increase coastal resiliency along the historic urban shoreline.
The event, which took place along the newly constructed battery wall section between King Street and Battery Place along Murray Boulevard, marked the latest stop of the Engineering and Public Works Roadshow – a joint effort by the American Council of Engineering Companies, the American Public Works Association, and the American Society of Civil Engineers to bring public attention to the essential role engineers and public works professionals play in making our modern world possible.
The battery project underscores the importance of innovative engineering solutions in addressing the challenges of climate change and rising sea levels. Thursday's event was also a chance to spotlight the engineering, construction, and public officials involved in the project, whose work often goes unrecognized.
About the Engineering and Public Works Roadshow: The Engineering and Public Works Roadshow is a series of nationwide events highlighting critical infrastructure projects and the skilled professionals who make them possible. It is an opportunity to learn about the importance of infrastructure investment, showcase the work of engineers and public works professionals, and celebrate these projects' positive impact on our communities. Learn more at www.infrastructureroadshow.org.
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Judgment Proof: Reducing Litigation Exposure with Litigation Risk Insurance
March 04, 2024 —
Latosha M. Ellis & Charlotte Leszinske - Hunton Insurance Recovery BlogIt is not just your imagination: verdicts are getting bigger. So-called “nuclear verdicts” have increased in size and frequency over the past decade, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. Litigation risk insurance is a little known, but highly effective, option meant to compliment traditional insurance products and provide additional protection for policyholders nervous about litigation exposure.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to predict the exposure presented by any particular case. Between 2020 and 2022, the median
verdict increased 95%—from $21.5 million to $41.1 million. In
2022, a jury handed down a verdict worth $7.3 billion for injury to a single plaintiff. Even if an injury or loss is minor, juries have shown that they are willing to penalize corporate defendants with punitive damages that significantly exceed the award of compensatory damages. With such uncertainty and millions (if not billions) at stake, companies can reduce risk with litigation risk insurance.
Three key types of litigation risk insurance include: (1) punitive wrap insurance, (2) adverse judgment insurance, and (3) judgment preservation insurance.
Reprinted courtesy of
Latosha M. Ellis, Hunton Andrews Kurth and
Charlotte Leszinske, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Ms. Ellis may be contacted at lellis@HuntonAK.com
Ms. Leszinske may be contacted at cleszinske@HuntonAK.com
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Dorian’s Wrath: How Event Cancellation Insurance Helps Businesses Recoup Losses from Severe Weather
December 16, 2019 —
Sergio F. Oehninger, Andrea DeField & Daniel Hentschel - Hunton Insurance Recovery BlogAs the 2019 hurricane season peaks, the Bahamas and the Southeast United States have already endured a catastrophic storm. Hurricane Dorian not only tragically caused loss of life and substantial property damage, but it also led to the cancellation or postponement of major events, resulting in considerable economic losses for affected companies.
For instance, Hurricane Dorian forced the cancellation of one of the Rolling Stones’ concerts at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, as well as the cancellation of R&B singer Chris Brown’s concert in Fort Lauderdale. Dorian also affected the college football game between Florida State University and Boise State University in Jacksonville. Having sold 45,000 tickets to the game, officials were forced to move the game inland to Tallahassee at great expense and effort.
The planners, headliners, teams and fans of these and similar events were not the only ones affected by the cancellations and schedule changes. Hotels, restaurants and businesses relying on tourism also were severely impacted by the schedule changes resulting from Hurricane Dorian over Labor Day weekend. Other programming that may have been affected includes conventions and meetings, fairs and festivals, trade shows and exhibitions, or any other corporate events planned to take place outdoors, requiring travel or with ticket-paying audiences.
Reprinted courtesy of Hunton Andrews Kurth attorneys
Sergio F. Oehninger,
Andrea DeField and
Daniel Hentschel
Mr. Oehninger may be contacted at soehninger@HuntonAK.com
Ms. DeField may be contacted at adefield@HuntonAK.com
Mr. Hentschel may be contacted at dhentschel@HuntonAK.com
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Third Circuit Limits Pennsylvania’s Kvaerner Decision; Unexpected and Unintended Injury May Constitute an “Occurrence” Under Pennsylvania Law
December 22, 2019 —
Michael S. Levine & Michelle M. Spatz - Hunton Insurance Recovery BlogThe Third Circuit ruled on Friday that differing “occurrence” definitions can have materially different meanings in the context of whether product defect claims constitute an “occurrence” triggering coverage under general liability insurance policies. The Court held in Sapa Extrusions, Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, that product claims against Sapa may be covered under policies that define an “occurrence” as an accident resulting in bodily injury or property damage “neither expected nor intended from the standpoint of the insured.” However, the Court affirmed that coverage was not triggered under policies lacking the “expected” or “intended” limitation, reasoning that, under those policies, there was no question that the intentional manufacturing of Sapa’s product was too foreseeable to amount to an “accident.”
The coverage dispute arose from an underlying action in which Marvin, a window manufacturer, alleged that, between 2000 and 2010, Sapa sold it roughly 28 million defective aluminum window extrusions. Marvin alleged that the extrusions, which are metal frames that hold glass window panes in place, began to oxidize and break down shortly after they were installed, causing Marvin to incur substantial costs to fix and replace them.
Marvin sued Sapa in 2010 in Minnesota federal court, and the parties settled in 2013. Sapa sought coverage for the settlement from its eight general liability insurers for the period implicated by Marvin’s allegations. The insurers denied coverage and Sapa brought suit in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Reprinted courtesy of
Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth and
Michelle M. Spatz, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com
Ms. Spatz may be contacted at mspatz@HuntonAK.com
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4 Breakthrough Panama Canal Engineering Innovations
October 11, 2017 —
Hobbes S. Sujith - Construction InformerThrough the rainforest of Central America stretches one of the seven wonders of the modern world. It’s the mother of all shortcuts – the Panama Canal. Over 300 million tons of cargo pass through its gates every year. Stretching through the heart of the Americans, this canal has changed the face of global trade. Ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific used to sail thousands of kilometers around Cape Horn. So in 1879 engineers planned to cut a channel through the Isthmus of Panama. And that, was going to become the history of Panama Canal engineering.
To understand how the Panama Canal can carry such a huge amount of cargo, we need to travel back in time to 17th century France. There, engineers building the Briare Canal (Canal de Briare) faced an big problem. How to make water flow up a hill?
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Hobbes S. Sujith, Construction Informer
Caterpillar Said to Be Focus of Senate Overseas Tax Probe
March 26, 2014 —
Richard Rubin and Jesse Drucker - BloombergA U.S. Senate investigative panel is examining Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and whether the company improperly avoided U.S. taxes by moving profits outside the country, said three people familiar with the inquiry.
The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a hearing in early April, said two of the people. They spoke on condition of anonymity before an official announcement.
Rachel Potts, a spokeswoman for Caterpillar, declined to comment. Two staff members for the subcommittee declined to comment.
In 2009, Daniel Schlicksup, an employee who had worked on tax strategy, alleged in a lawsuit in federal court that Caterpillar used a “Swiss structure” to shift profits to offshore companies and avoid more than $2 billion in U.S. taxes. He also alleged that Caterpillar used a “Bermuda structure” involving shell companies to return profits to the U.S. without paying required taxes.
Mr. Rubin may be contacted at rrubin12@bloomberg.net; Mr. Drucker may be contacted at jdrucker4@bloomberg.net
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Richard Rubin and Jesse Drucker, Bloomberg
Haight’s Stevie Baris Selected for Super Lawyers’ 2021 Northern California Rising Stars
July 19, 2021 —
Stevie B. Baris - Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLPCongratulations to Stevie Baris who was selected to the Super Lawyers 2021 Northern California Rising Stars list. Each year, no more than 2.5% of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.
Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.
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Stevie B. Baris, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLPMr. Baris may be contacted at
sbaris@hbblaw.com
Construction Defect Coverage Barred Under Business Risk Exclusion in Colorado
February 14, 2013 —
CDJ STAFFA federal court in Colorado recently applied the business risk exclusion to a construction defect case. Aaron Mandel and Stevi Raab of Sedgwick Law discuss this in Construction Defect Coverage Quarterly. The court found that the business risk exclusion barred coverage for an underlying construction defect. In the construction defect case, the Creek Side at Parker homeowners association sued the developer and builder. One such alleged defect was that “the plumbing contractor’s faulty installation of sewer and water lines damaged the lines themselves, caused surrounding asphalt and concrete to crack and deteriorate, and resulted in water intrusion.”
The court concluded that this damage to non-defective work was an occurrence, but the exclusion in the contract covered only property damage that occurred “while the work is ongoing.” The court concluded that the business risk exclusion barred coverage.
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