Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Is New York Heading for a Construction Defect Boom?

March 12, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The New York Times reported that “[t]here is growing concern that some developers are repeating the mistakes of the last housing boom and delivering substandard product.” “My phone is ringing already on projects that were just completed,” Steven D. Sladkus, a Manhattan real estate lawyer who says his firm has dozens of active construction defect cases, told the New York Times. “Uh-oh, here we go again.” Recent data shows a rising trend of building plans in New York: “Last year, the city issued construction permits for 20,300 units of housing, according to the Real Estate Board of New York. And the state attorney general’s office received submissions for 263 offering plans for condo conversions and new construction in 2014, up from 184 in 2011. Those numbers will most likely grow in 2015, encouraged by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s push to build more housing.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Want a Fair Chance at a Government Contract? Think Again

July 13, 2017 — Duane Craig - Construction Informer
If you’ve ever missed out on a government contract, part of the reason might have been because entrenched government contractors gained competitive advantages by under-paying their workers. The Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces executive order was nullified by Congress this year and much of the reporting by the business press presented just one side of the story. Here’s another perspective. When awarding federal contracts the government is supposed to consider each contractor’s compliance with labor laws related to pay, health and safety. But, there is a huge problem with enforcement on a government contract, according to Senator Elizabeth Warren and other observers.

Some federal contractors frequently underpay their workers violating wage and hour laws. More than 300,000 workers were cheated out of pay while working under federal contracts in the last decade. There were 12,000 companies working on federal contracts that were doing the cheating.
692 federal contractors significantly violated federal labor laws, and then repeated the behavior, over and over. The repeat offenders receive millions in taxpayer dollars as they violated safety and health standards. Those violations caused a wide range of physical harm to workers. Dozens of workers died, and countless numbers were exposed to chemicals that cause long term health problems.

Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Duane Craig, Construction Informer
Mr. Craig may be contacted at dtcraig@constructioninformer.com

N.J. Appellate Court Confirms that AIA Construction Contract Bars Insurer's Subrogation Claim

September 10, 2019 — Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
On April 4, 2019, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court confirmed that the waiver of subrogation provision in a commonly used form construction contract, American Institute of Architects (AIA) form A201 — 2007 General Conditions of the Contract for Construction, precluded an insurer’s claims against a subcontractor. In Ace American Ins. Co. v. American Medical Plumbing, Inc., the court considered Ace American Insurance Company’s (Ace) subrogation claim against a plumbing subcontractor who was allegedly responsible for a water main leak that caused approximately $1.2 million in damages to Ace’s insured, Equinox Development Corporation (Equinox). In March 2012, Equinox entered into a contract with Grace Construction Management Company, LLC (Grace) to build the “core and shell” of a new health club. Equinox and Grace used AIA form A201 for their contract. Grace then hired American Medical Plumbing, Inc. (American) as a plumbing subcontractor for the project. In April 2013, the water main failed, flooding the health club. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. may be contacted at coverage@sdvlaw.com

How the Election Could Affect the Housing Industry: Steven Cvitanovic Authors Construction Today Article

October 07, 2016 — Steven M. Cvitanovic – Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
Though non-policy issues dominating the news cycle have set this presidential election apart, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have recognized the importance of housing and infrastructure investment. In an article for Construction Today, Partner Steven Cvitanovic outlines several challenges facing the real estate development industry, and analyzes how Clinton and Trump might benefit or harm the industry. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Steven M. Cvitanovic, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
Mr. Cvitanovic may be contacted at scvitanovic@hbblaw.com

Trump Administration Waives Border Wall Procurement Rules

March 23, 2020 — Mary B. Powers & Debra K. Rubin - Engineering News-Record
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on Feb. 20 waived federal contracting rules to expedite construction of the U.S-Mexico border wall in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, citing legal authority under several U.S. laws, some dating back to the 1990s, to deal with what he claimed is "an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads ... to prevent unlawful entries." Reprinted courtesy of Mary B. Powers, Engineering News-Record and Debra K. Rubin, Engineering News-Record Ms. Rubin may be contacted at rubind@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Remediation Work Caused by Installation of Defective Tiles Not Covered

August 19, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The federal district court applied California law to find there was no coverage when the subcontractor was sued for broken tiles on a project. Am. Home Assur. Co. v. SMG Stone Co., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75910 (N. D. Cal. June 11, 2015). The subcontractor installed stone floor tiles at the project. The developer discovered fractures in some of the tiles. The fractured tiles were removed and replaced. This remediation process required the removal and replacement of portions of drywall and concrete subfloor installed by other subcontractors. The developer sued the subcontractor, who tendered the defense to its insurer. The insurer denied coverage and filed for a declaratory judgment that there was no coverage for the floor tile fracture claims. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

New Mexico Adopts Right to Repair Act

April 25, 2023 — William L. Doerler - The Subrogation Strategist
On April 7, 2023, New Mexico’s governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, signed into law New Mexico’s Right to Repair Act (Act), 2023 N.M. SB 50. The Act’s effective date is July 1, 2023. The Act applies to construction defects in dwellings, i.e., newly constructed single family housing units designed for residential use. The Act applies to not only newly constructed housing units but also to systems and other components and improvements that are part of the housing unit at the time of construction. Pursuant to the Act, except for construction defect claims that involve an immediate threat to the life or safety of persons occupying the dwelling, that render the dwelling uninhabitable or in which the seller, after notice, refused to make a repair pursuant to any applicable express warranty, a purchaser must comply with the provisions of the Act before filing a complaint or pursing an alternative dispute mechanism related to a construction defect in the dwelling. A seller who receives a notice complying with the provisions of the Act must give notice to all construction professionals who may be responsible for the defect. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of William L. Doerler, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Doerler may be contacted at doerlerw@whiteandwilliams.com

Construction Defect Suit Can Continue Against Plumber

June 28, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The Kansas Court of Appeals has reversed a district court ruling that a homeowner’s suit against a plumber was barred under the economic loss doctrine. However, subsequently the Kansas Supreme Court “refused to extend the economic loss doctrine to homeowner claims against construction contractors.” In light of this, the appeals court sent the case back to the lower court. The case, Coker v. Siler, was brought by Gregory Coker, who had bought a home from J.M.C. Construction. JMC purchased an unfinished house from Michael D. Siler in August 2006. As part of the completion process, John M. Chaney, the president of JMC, installed the water line into the residence. Mr. Coker bought the home in September 2007. Starting in April 2008, Mr. Coker noticed that his water bills had increased. Mr. Coker could find “no evidence of a leak above the ground,” so he contacted JMC Construction. Mr. Chaney had R.D. Johnson Excavation dig up the water line, after which a gap was discovered that had been allowing water to flow under the foundation. In addition to the higher water bills, an engineer determined that the water “resulted in cracks in the wall and uneven doors.” Mr. Coker sued, Siler, J.M.C. and Chaney for negligence, breach of implied warranty, strict liability, and breach of express warranty. J.M.C. and Chaney requested a summary judgment. The court dismissed Mr. Coker’s claims of negligence, strict liability, and breach of implied warranty on the basis of the economic loss doctrine, rejecting a petition from Mr. Coker to reconsider. The court, however, allowed Mr. Cocker to proceed with his claim of express warranty. In December, 2011, Mr. Coker accepted an offer from J.M.C. of $40,000. Mr. Coker then appealed the summary judgment, making the claim that while the court’s decision was based on Prendiville v. Contemporary Homes, Inc., this has now been overruled by David v. Hett. In this case, “the court ultimately found the rationale supporting the economic loss doctrine failed to justify a departure from a long time of cases in Kansas that establish a homeowner’s right to assert claims against residential contractors.” The appeals court concluded that “although the district court properly relied on the law as it existed at the time of its ruling, the intervening change in the law necessarily renders the conclusion reached by the district court erroneous as a matter of law.” In sending this case back to the district court, the appeals court noted that the lower court will need to determine if the “defendant accused of negligence did not have a duty to act in a certain manner towards the plaintiff,” in which case “summary judgment is proper. Mr. Coker claims that Mr. Chaney did indeed have this duty. Further, Mr. Coker claimed that Mr. Chaney had a duty arising out of implied warranty. The appeals court questioned whether the district court properly applied the economic loss doctrine to this claim, because despite being president of the construction company, Mr. Chaney “in his individual capacity as a plumber performing work for Coker, was not a party to the J.M.C. contract.” The court found that “Coker’s claim that Chaney breached an implied duty within such a contract fails as a matter of law.” However, the court did uphold Cocker’s claim of a contractor liability for injury to a third party, noting that “Chaney owed Coker a legal duty independent of Coker’s contact with J.M.C.” The appeals court left it to the district court to determine if the defect that caused the damage was present when the house left J.M.C.’s possession. The case was reversed and remanded “with directions to reinstate Coker’s claim of negligence against Chaney in his individual capacity as a plumber.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES