Seyfarth Shaw’s Construction Group Receives Top Tier Recognition from Legal 500
July 05, 2023 —
Alison Ashford, Michael McKeeman, Bennett Greenberg, Meghan Douris, Jason Smith, Michael Wagner & Ryan Gilchrist - The Construction SeyfarthSeyfarth Shaw’s Construction group have achieved a top tier ranking in the highly regarded
Legal 500 United States 2023 edition, solidifying their reputation as one of the nation’s top legal teams. This recognition reaffirms Seyfarth’s unwavering commitment to excellence in Real Estate Construction and Construction Litigation.
The Legal 500 United States guide recognizes Seyfarth’s Construction practice as having a “very deep team with extensive construction knowledge as well as experts in related fields such as government contracting and business organization.” Our team is regarded by clients and peers as “collegial, intelligent, direct and adaptable.” The guide specifically recognizes the firm’s former Construction group chair, Bennett Greenberg, in their Hall of Fame. Alison Ashford, the firm’s current Construction group co-chair, is named a Leading Lawyer and Washington, DC Associate, Michael Wagner, made the Rising Stars list. Other notable mentions include, Michael McKeeman, Construction group co-chair, Jason Smith, Meghan Douris, and Ryan Gilchrist.
Reprinted courtesy of
Alison Ashford, Seyfarth,
Michael McKeeman, Seyfarth,
Bennett Greenberg, Seyfarth,
Meghan Douris, Seyfarth,
Jason Smith, Seyfarth,
Michael Wagner, Seyfarth and
Ryan Gilchrist, Seyfarth
Ms. Ashford may be contacted at aashford@seyfarth.com
Mr. McKeeman may be contacted at mmckeeman@seyfarth.com
Mr. Greenberg may be contacted at bgreenberg@seyfarth.com
Ms. Douris may be contacted at mdouris@seyfarth.com
Mr. Smith may be contacted at jnsmith@seyfarth.com
Mr. Wagner may be contacted at mewagner@seyfarth.com
Mr. Gilchrist may be contacted at rgilchrist@seyfarth.com
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
California Supreme Court Adopts “Vertical Exhaustion” in the Long-Storied Montrose Environmental Coverage Litigation
June 08, 2020 —
Gregory S. Capps & Michael E. DiFebbo - White and Williams LLPOn April 6, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued a decision that held a policyholder is entitled to access available excess coverage under any excess policy once it has exhausted directly underlying excess policies for the same policy period in Montrose Chemical Corporation v. the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Supreme Court of California, case number S244737. In its unanimous decision adopting this “vertical exhaustion” requirement, the court rejected the “horizontal exhaustion” rule urged by the policyholder’s excess insurers, under which the policyholder would have been able to access an excess policy only after it had exhausted other policies with lower attachment points from every policy period in which the environmental damage resulting in liability occurred.
In 1990, Montrose sought coverage under primary policies and multiple layers of excess policies issued for periods from 1961 through 1985 for environmental damage liabilities arising from its production of insecticide in the Los Angeles area between 1947 and 1982. The ongoing dispute currently arises out of Montrose’s Fifth Amended Complaint which was filed in 2015 seeking declarations concerning exhaustion and the manner in which Montrose may allocate its liabilities across the policies. Each of the excess policies at issue contained a requirement of exhaustion of underlying coverage. The various policies described the applicable underlying coverage in four main ways: (1) some policies contained a schedule of underlying insurance listing all of the underlying policies in the same policy period by insurer name, policy number, and dollar amount; (2) some policies referenced a specific dollar amount of underlying insurance in the same policy period and a schedule of underlying insurance on file with the insurer; (3) some policies referenced a specific dollar amount of underlying insurance in the same policy period and identified one or more of the underlying insurers; and (4) some policies referenced a specific dollar amount of underlying insurance that corresponds with the combined limits of the underlying policies in that policy period. The excess policies also provided, in various ways, that “other insurance” must be exhausted before the excess policy can be accessed.
Reprinted courtesy of
Gregory S. Capps, White and Williams LLP and
Michael E. DiFebbo, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Capps may be contacted at cappsg@whiteandwilliams.com
Mr. DiFebbo may be contacted at difebbom@whiteandwilliams.com
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Excess Policy Triggered Once Retention Paid, Even if Loss Not Covered By Excess
July 23, 2014 —
Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law HawaiiThe Fifth Circuit determined that the Umbrella policies took effect once the primary insurance was exhausted by claims not covered by the Umbrella policies. Indem. Ins. Co. of N. Am. v. W&T Offshore, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 11775 (5th Cir. June 23, 2014).
W&T had primary and Umbrella/Excess coverage to protect its offshore oil rigs from hurricane damage. The primary policies covered property damage and third party claims. The Umbrella policies only covered third-party claims. All policies covered Removal of Debris (ROD).
In September 2008, Hurricane Ike caused damage to 150 offshore platforms in which W&T had an interest. W&T submitted over $150 million in claims for property damage to the primary carriers. The primary policies had a $10 million self-insured retention (SIR). The primary policies covered $150 million in coverage over the $10 million SIR. Anticipating that W&T would submit all of its ROD claims, which were estimated to exceed $50 million, the Umbrella carriers filed suit for a declaratory judgment.
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law HawaiiMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Sellers' Alleged Misrepresentation Does Not Amount To An Occurrence
November 30, 2020 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiThe insurer successfully established on summary judgment that the insureds' alleged misrepresentation in the sale of a condominium was not an occurrence. Novak v. St. Maxent-Wimberly House Condo., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167397 (E.D. La. Sept. 14, 2020).
State Farm issued the sellers a condominium unit owner's policy. The buyers sued the sellers, contending the sellers had made misrepresentations in the sale process. The sellers allegedly failed to disclose defects in the condominium before and at the time of the sale. State Farm intervened, seeking a declaration that it was not required to defend or indemnify the sellers because there was no occurrence.
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Apartment Boom in Denver a Shortcut Around Condo Construction Defect Suits?
September 24, 2013 —
CDJ STAFFFor every condo currently being built in Denver, there are 40 apartment units. And there are some who think that this is being done to evade construction defect lawsuits. At issue is the statute of limitations for construction defects. Under Colorado law, condominium buyers have six years after the completion of constrution to sue for construction defects, unless the defect isn’t discovered until the fifth or six year, in which case they are given until the eighth year. But what if someone built an apartment building, rented out the units for six years, and then converted the whole thing to condominiums?
Some think that the construction defect clock would be reset. Amie Mayhew, the CEO of the Colorado Association of Home Builders noted that if this is the case, “you’d be back at square one.” But Doug Benson, a construction defect attorney, thinks that if a builder did this, and didn’t make any further construction, no one would be able to sue for construction defects, even if the condo owners found them. Mr. Benson, who represents homeowners, said that “they’re apartment homes and that’s just to avoid liability.”
Mike Gifford, the president of the Associated General Contractors of Colorado, noted that insurance companies were already wary of apartment complexes, fearing that they would be turned into condos. Whatever the cause, Denver seems to have a shortage of condos. But, they’re going to have a lot of apartments available.
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
David A. Frenznick Awarded Multiple Accolades in the 2020 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America
September 23, 2019 —
David A. Frenznick - Wilke FleuryWilke Fleury congratulates attorney David A. Frenznick on his inclusion in the 26th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America© for his work in: Litigation – Real Estate!
In addition, David was also acknowledged as a 2020 “Lawyer of the Year” award recipient. He received this accolade for his work in Litigation – Real Estate in Sacramento. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and community is honored with a “Lawyer of the Year” award.
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Almost 94,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and have received over 11 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. For the 2020 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, 8.3 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 62,000 leading lawyers being included in the new edition. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
David A. Frenznick, Wilke FleuryMr. Frenznick may be contacted at
dfrenznick@wilkefleury.com
Working Safely With Silica: Health Hazards and OSHA Compliance
January 17, 2022 —
Rick Pedley - Construction ExecutiveAbout 2.3 million American workers are exposed to silica, including those in construction, oil and gas, agriculture and manufacturing. Silica is commonly found in a range of construction materials and when this material breaks apart, small particles are released into the air, creating what’s known as respirable crystalline silica. These particles can get into a person’s respiratory tract, which can lead to a range of serious and potentially fatal illnesses including silicosis, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney diseases.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set clear regulations for working with this substance, so construction workers and managers can know the risks of inhaling this substance and protect themselves on the job site.
What is Silica?
Crystalline silica is a mineral that forms naturally in the earth. Raw construction materials such as sand, stone, concrete and mortar often contain deposits of crystalline silica, which can put employees at risk. Silica becomes a danger to workers when it is released into the air and breathed in.
Reprinted courtesy of
Rick Pedley, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Court of Appeals Rules that HOA Lien is not Spurious, Despite Claim that Annexation was Invalid
March 27, 2019 —
Jesse Howard Witt - The Witt Law FirmToday, the Colorado Court of appeals reversed a order that had deemed a homeowner association’s lien to be spurious.
The case arose after a developer approved a property owner’s application to annex additional real estate to a community in 1999. Several years later, the developer repurchased the property through a foreclosure sale. Despite its prior approval of the annexation, the developer refused to pay community maintenance assessments, which prompted the association to record a lien under its covenants and a statutory provision of the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA).
The parties remained in a standoff until 2016, when the Colorado Supreme Court announced two decisions that adopted a stricter standard for annexing property into communities subject to CCIOA. Relying on this new authority, the developer at Stroh Ranch argued that the 1999 annexation was no longer valid. The district court agreed and declared the association’s lien to be spurious.
Reprinted courtesy of
Jesse Howard Witt, Acerbic Witt
Mr. Witt may be contacted at www.witt.law
Read the full story... Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
