Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

WSHB Ranks No.10 in Law360’s Best of Law Firms for Women

April 28, 2016 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Law360 recently published the survey findings and listed the “100 Best Law Firms for Female Attorneys,” and Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP (WSHB) ranked tenth. “I was thrilled to help spearhead a recruitment committee to attract and retain female lawyer talent,” Victoria Ersoff, the first named partner at WSHB, stated. “Long before it was fashionable, the leaders at WSHB recognized that in order to retain first-class lawyers, they need to provide them with opportunities to balance their work and personal life.” Janice Michaels, managing partner of WSHB’s Las Vegas office, praised the firm for treating all attorneys equally: “Female lawyers at WSHB are on equal footing with their male counterparts, whether it’s trial experience, mentoring or expanding professional opportunities. It is a great environment to learn and grow without the impediment of a glass-ceiling.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

New Stormwater Climate Change Tool

February 26, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Builder magazine reported that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a Climate Adjustment Tool that “allows engineers and planners to evaluate the performance of water infrastructure while considering future climate change projections, such as more frequent high-intensity storms and changes in evaporation rates of seasonal precipitation, to determine the benefits of resiliency decisions to reduce local economic burden and protect communities.” The tool is part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan Virtual Climate Resilience Toolkit. “Climate change means increased risks to our health, our economy, and our environment,” says EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, as quoted by Builder. “But with the president’s Climate Action Plan, the agency is taking action to advance science-based technology, such as the addition of the Climate Adjustment Tool, to help state and local planners combat the impacts of climate change, especially significant economic burden from severe weather, and protect communities through sustainability and resiliency measures.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Municipalities Owe a Duty to Pedestrians Regardless of Whether a Sidewalk Presents an “Open and Obvious” Hazardous Condition. (WA)

February 25, 2014 — Natasha Khachatourians – Scheer & Zehnder LLP Liability Newsletter
Issue: Does a municipality owe a duty to pedestrians to keep sidewalks reasonably safe for their intended use even if the condition of the sidewalk is an open and obvious hazard? YES Facts: Plaintiff Nanci Millson liked to walk in Lynden, Washington. While plaintiff regularly walked through her neighborhood and knew that various areas of the sidewalk were cracked and lifted, she continued to walk through her neighborhood nonetheless. Plaintiff felt that the sidewalks closer to her neighborhood were in better condition and when she reached an area a block away from her home, she picked up speed even though she was in an area of sidewalk she previously had not walked before. Plaintiff became distracted, tripped on an elevated sidewalk and fell, suffering various injuries. Plaintiff sued the City of Lynden (“City”) for negligently failing to maintain the sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition. The City argued that the tripping hazard was “open and obvious”, and the trial court granted the City summary judgment. The issue before the Court of Appeals was whether an “open and obvious” condition is a matter of law to be decided by the court. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Natasha Khachatourians, Scheer & Zehnder LLP
Ms. Khachatourians may be contacted at natashak@scheerlaw.com

Contractor Sued for Contract Fraud by Government

December 11, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
A Canton, Ohio construction company, TAB Construction, has been sued by the federal government over claims that the company lied about its location in order to receive contracts from the U.S. government. According to the suit, TAB received about $13 million for contracts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The firm had gained the contracts through a Small Business Administration program that allowed firms in certain areas to compete for contracts, however, the firm was not located in the appropriate area. When the SBA found that TAB was not doing business out of an address that qualified for the SBA’s HUBZone program, the company claimed to be working from another address that qualified. Upon investigation, the SBA found this also was not true. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Construction Litigation Roundup: “Hold the Pickles, Hold the Lettuce?”

October 02, 2023 — Daniel Lund III - Lexology
Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce? You can even hold the service… or at least proof of it! In a dispute over the construction of a Burger King restaurant in Tupelo, Mississippi, a state court suit by the owner against its general contractor and architect was removed to federal court by one of the defendant parties, on the basis of the diversity of citizenship of the defendant parties from the plaintiff, per 28 U.S.C. § 1331(a). For its part, plaintiff, upon achieving service of its state court complaint against the various defendants, filed a proof of service as to the party which sought to remove the case, but not as to the other defendants (even though the other defendants were served). Once the case was removed to federal court and after the deadline for removal has passed, plaintiff sought to have the matter remanded based on the lack of the consent of the entirety of the defendant group to the removal, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1446 (“When a civil action is removed solely under section 1441(a), all defendants who have been properly joined and served must join in or consent to the removal of the action.”). Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Lund III, Phelps
Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com

A Compilation of Quirky Insurance Claims

August 13, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Property Casualty 360 showcased five “nutty claims stories” based upon recollections by several insurance professionals. Number four, subtitled, “The Case of the Soaked Survivalists,” described a claim by an elderly couple who “made a $350,000 water-damage claim after heavy rains and an inadequate sump pump ruined what they described as thousands of ‘valuable items’ in their storage area.” However, a claims adjuster discovered during the investigation that the area in question was actually a bomb shelter built during the Cold War era, and the so-called valuable items were actually “soap, toothpaste, canned goods, and more.” The insurer ended up settling for about $200,000. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

The New Jersey Theme Park Where Kids’ Backhoe Dreams Come True

April 13, 2017 — Patrick Clark - Bloomberg
There is probably only one place in America where an eight-year-old can ride a carousel whose seats look like excavator buckets, then swipe at bowling pins with a mini-digger—where, for a ticket price of less than $40, he or she can operate a backhoe, drive a drum-roller, and ride the telescoping arm of a construction lift 50 feet into the air to admire the Philadelphia skyline. That place is a small theme park in West Berlin, N.J., called Diggerland USA. Diggerland opened for the season in March, but even on a recent visit when the park was closed, its discordant appeal was obvious: Small children get to climb into the cabs of heavy-duty construction equipment. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Patrick Clark, Bloomberg
Mr. Clark may be followed on Twitter @pat_clark

Wendel Rosen Attorneys Named as Fellows of the Construction Lawyers Society of America

October 26, 2017 — Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP - California Construction Law Blog
Wendel Rosen is proud to announce that two of its attorneys, Garret Murai and Quinlan Tom, have been named as Fellows of the Construction Lawyers Society of America. CLSA, an invitation-only honors society, is limited to 1,200 construction attorneys worldwide. Garret and Quinlan serve as co-chairs of Wendel Rosen’s Construction Practice Group. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP

SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES