Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Are “Green” Building Designations and Certifications Truly Necessary?

January 28, 2019 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
As anyone who reads this construction blog on a regular basis knows, I believe that the move to newer sustainable building practices (while bringing about a new or different set of potential risks) is both necessary and laudable. Because of this fact, you may be asking why the headline for today’s post. After all, I am a LEED AP and assisted in the drafting of the LEED/Green Building addendum to the ConsensusDOCS so I must be pro LEED (or any other) certification of buildings. To the extent that such certification encourages best practices and more sustainable building stock, I am pro certification. However, certification is not a necessary carrot to bring builders around to such practices. As a recent article in EcoHome Magazine (thanks to Todd Hawkins at BuilderFish for alerting me to the article) points out, companies are already moving toward these practices with or without certification and it’s added layer of expense. Economic, air quality, and moral (“its the right thing to do”) factors are pushing executives to such practices. According to EcoHome Magazine, while LEED retains the lions share of green certifications, more and more companies are either using internal standards or trying out other certification programs, including Energy Star. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

Connecticut Supreme Court Rules Matching of Materials Decided by Appraisers

March 28, 2022 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The Connecticut Supreme Court determined that an appraisal panel could resolve whether the insurer must replace undamaged materials so that they match the damaged materials. Klass v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 2022 Conn. LEXIS 2 (Conn. Jan. 11, 2022). The insured reported damage to the roof of his home to Liberty Mutual. A representative from Liberty Mutual inspected and noticed a few shingles missing from the rear slope of the roof. The representative agreed that the damage was caused by wind damage, a covered loss under the policy. Liberty Mutual accepted coverage and issued an estimate to replace the rear slope of the roof. The insured's contractor inspected the roof and provided an estimate that contemplated replacement of the entire roof at nearly double the cost of Liberty Mutual's estimate. The insured requested an appraisal. Liberty Mutual responded that the insured could not invoke the appraisal process in the absence of a "competing" estimate (i.e., one that addressed the claim for which coverage was accepted). Any dispute regarding the matching of the front and rear roof slope was a question of coverage, not an issue for appraisal. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Construction Defect or Just Punch List?

December 11, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
A couple in Dickinson, North Dakota have put big, green “buyer beware” signs on their home. They’re not planning on selling, but just trying to warn prospective neighbors of the problems they’ve had since moving into their new home. Andrea Thermes said her problems included leaking windows and uneven floors. “I absolutely love my house,” she said. “If we didn’t have the issues, I would be the happiest girl in the world.” One problem was a leaking picture window in her living room. The builder replaced it, but the first window that arrived was the wrong size. The new home is still under a warranty and the builder has been fixing issues as they arise. “They are upset with some of the problems they have had,” said William Henry, president of B-Dev, the builder of the home. Since Ms. Thermes’s window wasn’t repaired in time for Thanksgiving, Mr. Henry sent wine and beer to her home. “Not that that makes up for not having their window, but we’re trying to make this work and trying to appease them,” he said. But Mr. Henry said that some of the problems “are not really material defects,” characterizing them as “punch-list and warranty items.” Read the court decision
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Asbestos Exclusion Bars Coverage

February 05, 2014 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The broad asbestos exclusion found in a Business Owners policy barred coverage for the insured after it sold a building in which asbestos was discovered. Phillips v. Parmelee, 2013 Wisc. LEXIS 747 (Dec. 27, 2013). Prior to purchasing an apartment building, the insured had the building inspected. The report indicated that the building's heating supply ducts likely contained asbestos. The insured then sought to sell the building. The Real Estate Condition Report stated the insured was not aware of "asbestos or asbestos-containing materials on the premises." The buyers purchased the property. A contractor cut through asbestos-wrapped ducts, dispersing asbestos throughout the building. The buyers sued the insured for breach of contract/warranty and negligence in failing to adequately disclose defective conditions including asbestos. 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

Georgia Coal-to-Solar Pivot Shows the Way on Climate Regs

July 02, 2014 — Mark Drajem and Margaret Newkirk – Bloomberg
Georgia small-business owner Julian Smith keeps hearing that the Obama administration’s latest climate regulations will drive up local electric bills. He doesn’t believe the prediction, but he isn’t arguing: The fears are doing wonders for his solar-panel installation company. “My phone is blowing up with new customers,” Smith, owner of SolarSmith LLC of Savannah, said in an interview. “It turns out that if you tell everybody the amount they will spend on electricity will skyrocket, they will believe you.” In Smith’s home state, as in the rest of the nation, businesses and consumers are struggling to size up competing claims about the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to cut carbon pollution from power plants, released June 2. The proposed regulations are among the most sweeping and complex in the EPA’s history, promising to revamp the way electricity has been generated and distributed for a century. Mr. Drajem may be contacted at mdrajem@bloomberg.net; Ms. Newkirk may be contacted at mnewkirk@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Mark Drajem and Margaret Newkirk, Bloomberg

Milwaukee's 25-Story Ascent Stacks Up as Tall Timber Role Model

January 25, 2021 — Nadine M. Post - Engineering News-Record
In January 2019, Preston Cole left his post as Commissioner of the Milwaukee Dept. of Neighborhood Services and became Secretary of Wisconsin’s Dept. of Natural Resources. It was a step up for the 25-year veteran of public service—a forester by profession—who as the city’s top building official had reformed DNS by fostering a developer-friendly environment. Reprinted courtesy of Nadine M. Post, Engineering News-Record Ms. Post may be contacted at postn@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Former SNC-Lavalin CEO Now Set for Trial in Bribe Case

December 11, 2018 — Debra K. Rubin - Engineering News-Record
Pierre Duhaime, the former CEO of Canadian design-build giant SNC-Lavalin—who resigned from the firm in 2012 in the wake of a contracting bribery scandal in which he was arrested for his alleged role—is now set for a February trial start in Quebec Superior Court. The case relates to payoffs on one project, a multibillion-dollar Montreal hospital on which the firm led the public-private construction consortium. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Debra K. Rubin, ENR
Ms. Rubin may be contacted at rubind@enr.com

Japan Quake Triggers Landslides, Knocks Power Plant Offline

September 10, 2018 — Jeff Rubenstone - Engineering News-Record
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake occurred on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido on Sept. 6, leaving at least seven dead and damaging buildings and structures in the region, including a 1,650MW coal-fired thermal power plant that was taken offline. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jeff Rubenstone, ENR
Mr. Rubenstone may be contacted at rubenstonej@enr.com

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