Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

ADA Lawsuits Spur Renovation Work in Fresno Area

November 06, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The El Gallo restaurant in Clovis, California has completed more than $45,000 worth of accessibility upgrades, ranging from installing signs for handicap parking to an $8,000 wheelchair-accessible ramp. The restaurant closed in 2010 when they were sued over alleged Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violations. But the El Gallo was only the first Fresno-area business hit with an accessibility lawsuit. And others wanted to avoid getting sued at all. Donald Bremseth, an architect working in Clovis, said that designing modifications to older buildings to bring them into compliance with the ADA has kept him busy, designing dozens of projects in the area. Daniel Zoldak, vice president of Lars Anderson & Associates, noted at on one inspection, he saw about 50 ADA violations, and with the fines at least $2,000 per violation, $10,000 or $20,000 of renovations doesn’t look so bad. That’s under the new law, which also allows a business 30 days to get into compliance. Under the old law, the minimum fine was $4,000. Read the court decision
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Flood Sublimits Do Not Apply to Loss Caused by Named Windstorm

May 07, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The New Jersey Superior Court considered whether recovery for storm surge was limited by the policy's sublimit for loss caused by flood. Public Serv. Enter. Group, Inc. v. Ace Am. Ins. Co., 2015 N. J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 620 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. March 23, 2015). Storm surge from Superstorm Sandy inundated and damaged Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc.'s (PSEG) property, including eight large generating stations. PSEG had coverage of $1 billion under policies with defendant carriers. There was no sublimit in the policies for "named windstorms," other than named windstorms in Florida. A $250 million sublimit appeared in the policies for losses caused by "flood." The carriers paid only a portion of PSEG's claim. The total damages exceeded $500 million. 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

Mexico City Metro Collapse Kills 24 After Neighbors’ Warnings

May 17, 2021 — Max De Haldevang & Maya Averbuch - Bloomberg
The collapse of a long-troubled Mexico City metro track killed 24 people and put two of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s top allies in the line of fire Monday night, after a decade of safety concerns and probes surrounding the project. About 79 people were injured, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday. A broken beam led to the incident on the Golden Line of the metro system, she said. An international agency and the attorney general’s office will investigate. Reprinted courtesy of Max De Haldevang, Bloomberg and Maya Averbuch, Bloomberg Read the court decision
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Nine Firm Members Recognized as Super Lawyers or Rising Stars

June 29, 2017 — Ceslie Blass - Ahlers & Cressman PLLC
While we avoid using this blog as a platform for self-promotion, we recently received share-worthy distinctions, which both flatter and humble us. We invite you, our loyal readers, to celebrate in our success, which in great measure is due to you. John P. Ahlers, one of the firm's founding partners, was ranked third overall across all practicing industries in Washington 2017 Super Lawyers and founding partner Paul R. Cressman, Jr. was ranked in the Top 100. The following other firm members were also recognized as Super Lawyers: Founding partner Scott R. Sleight, Bruce A. Cohen (Partner), Brett M. Hill (Partner), and Lawrence Glosser (Partner). In addition, Ryan W. Sternoff (Partner), James R. Lynch (Partner), Tymon Berger (Associate), and Lindsay (Taft) Watkins (Associate) were selected as Super Lawyers Rising Stars. Over half of the firm's lawyers received Super Lawyers distinction. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ceslie Blass, Ahlers & Cressman PLLC

Preserving your Rights to Secure Payment on Construction Projects (with Examples)

March 22, 2017 — David Adelstein – Florida Construction Legal Updates
All participants across the construction industry should understand what efforts they should take to maximize and collateralize payment. No one wants to work for free and, certainly, no one in the construction industry wants to work without ensuring there is some mechanism to recover payment in the event they remain unpaid. Being proactive and knowledgeable can go a long way when it comes to recovering your money. Your Contract – It starts with the contract. You should understand those risks that are allocated to you and those that are allocated to another party. And, you should understand the contractual mechanism to resolve claims and disputes and whether your contract has a prevailing party attorney’s fees provision. In addition to contractual rights, there are tools for you to maximize your collection efforts. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Florida Construction Legal Updates
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dadelstein@gmail.com

Beyond the Flow-Down Clause: Subcontract Provisions That Can Expose General Contractors to Increased Liability and Inconsistent Outcomes

December 10, 2024 — Phillip L. Parham III - ConsensusDocs
Flow-down clauses in construction subcontracts—blanket clauses providing that some or all of the terms and conditions in the prime contract between the general contractor and the property owner apply equally between the subcontractor and general contractor—are an important component to managing risk for a general contractor and reducing the likelihood of disputes with either/both the owner and subcontractor. Put simply, flow-down provisions can provide continuity between the general contractor’s obligations to the owner and the subcontractor’s obligations to the general contractor. Properly drafted, flow-down clauses reduce the general contractor’s risk by ensuring that the subcontractor is legally bound to meet the owner’s objectives for the project in the same way as the general contractor. But relying on blanket flow-down clauses, alone, to protect the general contractor is like a soldier going into battle with nothing but a helmet, leaving significant other areas exposed and unprotected. In other words, a general contractor should look beyond just a singular, blanket flow down of terms to ensure its bases are properly covered. Accordingly, this article goes beyond the blanket flow-down clause and highlights several key subcontract provisions where inconsistent obligations among the subcontractor, general contractor, and owner expose the general contractor to increased liability and inconsistent outcomes. Specifically, this article will examine disputes resolution clauses, liquidating provisions, notice provisions, and termination provisions. However, this article will not provide a deep examination of these clauses, nor does it highlight every potentially relevant clause. Rather, it focuses on these select clauses to highlight important issues associated with flow-down provisions. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Phillip L. Parham III, Jones Walker LLP
Mr. Parham may be contacted at pparham@joneswalker.com

Strategic Communication Considerations for Contractors Regarding COVID-19

April 06, 2020 — Sarah Skidmore - Construction Executive
The COVID-19 is a worldwide wildcard. Around the globe, organizations are forced to communicate with a wide variety of audiences. Audiences range from employees to customers and vendors—and more. A pandemic of this nature is new for the modern globalized workforce. Societies realize the breadth of international influence involved in a single supply chain now more than ever before. Domestically based organizations realize their place in the larger global system—and the construction industry is a perfect example. Here are key questions for leaders to ponder. 1. Who are your audience groups? In a wildcard situation, organizations are often tasked with communicating to many different audience groups and stakeholders. So, take some time to think beyond the groups that come top-of-mind such as customers, vendors, partners and owners.

Does the organization have any community-based events on the calendar?
Does the organization have professional development sessions on the calendar?
Does the organization have planned maintenance or facilities work scheduled with third parties?
Does the organization have interns or apprenticeship programs with local colleges?

Reprinted courtesy of Sarah Skidmore, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Ms. Skidmore may be contacted at sarah@skidmore-consulting.com

Staying the Course, Texas Supreme Court Rejects Insurer’s Argument for Exception to Eight-Corners Rule in Determining Duty to Defend

April 27, 2020 — John C. Eichman, Sergio F. Oehninger, Grayson L. Linyard & Leah B. Nommensen - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
In responding to a certified question from the Fifth Circuit in Richards v. State Farm Lloyds, the Texas Supreme Court held that the “policy-language exception” to the eight-corners rule articulated by the federal district court is not a permissible exception under Texas law. See Richards v. State Farm Lloyds, 19-0802, 2020 WL 1313782, at *1 (Tex. Mar. 20, 2020). The eight-corners rule generally provides that Texas courts may only consider the four corners of the petition and the four corners of the applicable insurance policy when determining whether a duty to defend exists. State Farm argued that a “policy-language exception” prevents application of the eight-corners rule unless the insurance policy explicitly requires the insurer to defend “all actions against its insured no matter if the allegations of the suit are groundless, false or fraudulent,” relying on B. Hall Contracting Inc. v. Evanston Ins. Co., 447 F. Supp. 2d 634, 645 (N.D. Tex. 2006). The Texas Supreme Court rejected the insurer’s argument, citing Texas’ long history of applying the eight-corners rule without regard for the presence or absence of a “groundless-claims” clause. The underlying dispute in Richards concerned whether State Farm must defend its insureds, Janet and Melvin Richards, against claims of negligent failure to supervise and instruct after their 10-year old grandson died in an ATV accident. The Richardses asked State Farm to provide a defense to the lawsuit by their grandson’s mother and, if necessary, to indemnify them against any damages. To support its argument that no coverage under the policy existed, and in turn, it had no duty to defend, State Farm relied on: (1) a police report to prove the location of the accident occurred off the insured property; and (2) a court order detailing the custody arrangement of the deceased child to prove the child was an insured under the policy. The federal district court held that the eight-corners rule did not apply, and thus extrinsic evidence could be considered regarding the duty to defend, because the policy did not contain a statement that the insurer would defend “groundless, false, or fraudulent” claims. In light of the extrinsic police report and extrinsic custody order, the district court granted summary judgment to State Farm. Reprinted courtesy of Hunton Andrews Kurth attorneys John C. Eichman, Sergio F. Oehninger, Grayson L. Linyard and Leah B. Nommensen Mr. Oehninger may be contacted at soehninger@HuntonAK.com Mr. Linyard may be contacted at glinyard@HuntonAK.com Ms. Nommensen may be contacted at leahnommensen@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES