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    Building Expert Builders Information
    Seattle, Washington

    Washington Builders Right To Repair Current Law Summary:

    Current Law Summary: (SB 5536) The legislature passed a contractor protection bill that reduces contractors' exposure to lawsuits to six years from 12, and gives builders seven "affirmative defenses" to counter defect complaints from homeowners. Claimant must provide notice no later than 45 days before filing action; within 21 days of notice of claim, "construction professional" must serve response; claimant must accept or reject inspection proposal or settlement offer within 30 days; within 14 days following inspection, construction pro must serve written offer to remedy/compromise/settle; claimant can reject all offers; statutes of limitations are tolled until 60 days after period of time during which filing of action is barred under section 3 of the act. This law applies to single-family dwellings and condos.


    Building Expert Contractors Licensing
    Guidelines Seattle Washington

    A license is required for plumbing, and electrical trades. Businesses must register with the Secretary of State.


    Building Expert Contractors Building Industry
    Association Directory
    MBuilders Association of King & Snohomish Counties
    Local # 4955
    335 116th Ave SE
    Bellevue, WA 98004

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of Kitsap County
    Local # 4944
    5251 Auto Ctr Way
    Bremerton, WA 98312

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of Spokane
    Local # 4966
    5813 E 4th Ave Ste 201
    Spokane, WA 99212

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Home Builders Association of North Central
    Local # 4957
    PO Box 2065
    Wenatchee, WA 98801

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    MBuilders Association of Pierce County
    Local # 4977
    PO Box 1913 Suite 301
    Tacoma, WA 98401

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    North Peninsula Builders Association
    Local # 4927
    PO Box 748
    Port Angeles, WA 98362
    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10

    Jefferson County Home Builders Association
    Local # 4947
    PO Box 1399
    Port Hadlock, WA 98339

    Seattle Washington Building Expert 10/ 10


    Building Expert News and Information
    For Seattle Washington


    Catch 22: “If You’re Moving Dirt, You Need to Control Your Dust” (But Don’t Use Potable Water!)

    Traub Lieberman Senior Trial Counsel Timothy McNamara Wins Affirmation of Summary Judgment Denial

    Apple to Open Steve Jobs-Inspired Ring-Shaped Campus in April

    NTSB Faults Maintenance, Inspection Oversight for Fern Hollow Bridge Collapse

    General Contractor Intervening to Compel Arbitration Per the Subcontract

    California Supreme Court Rules Developers can be Required to Include Affordable Housing

    Newmeyer & Dillion Gets Top-Tier Practice Area Rankings on U.S. News – Best Lawyers List

    Fed. Judge Blocks Release of Records on FIU Bridge Collapse, Citing NTSB Investigation

    Berlin Lawmakers Get a New Green Workspace

    No Jail Time for Disbarred Construction Defect Lawyer

    Condo Building Hits Highest Share of Canada Market Since 1971

    Hawaii Federal District Court Compels Appraisal

    Lake Charles Tower’s Window Damage Perplexes Engineers

    Florida “Property Damage” caused by an “Occurrence” and “Your Work” Exclusion

    Construction Litigation Roundup: “Just Hanging Around”

    Settlement Ends Construction Defect Lawsuit for School

    Claims Litigated Under Government Claims Act Must “Fairly Reflect” Factual Claims Made in Underlying Government Claim

    Couple Claims ADA Renovation Lead to Construction Defects

    Defending Against the Res Ipsa Loquitur Doctrine – Liability Considerations

    Indemnity Payment to Insured Satisfies SIR

    Locating Construction Equipment with IoT and Mobile Technology

    San Francisco Office Secures Defense Verdict in Legal Malpractice Action

    Chambers USA 2020 Ranks White and Williams as a Leading Law Firm

    Fifth Circuit Asks Texas Supreme Court to Clarify Construction Defect Decision

    Crane Dangles and So Do Insurance Questions

    Chicago Makes First Major Update to City's Building Code in 70 Years

    ENR Northwest’s Top Contractors Survey Reveals Regional Uptick

    15 Wilke Fleury Lawyers Recognized in 2020 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists

    Former Trump Atlantic City Casino Set for February Implosion

    Attorneys’ Fees Are Available in Arizona Eviction Actions

    Los Angeles Construction Sites May Be on Fault Lines

    Blue Gold: Critical Water for Critical Energy Materials

    Subcontractors Have a Duty to Clarify Ambiguities in Bid Documents

    Summarizing Changes to NEPA in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (P.L. 118-5)

    Res Judicata Not Apply to Bar Overlapping Damages in Separate Suits Against Contractor and Subcontractor

    Anticipatory Repudiation of a Contract — The Prospective Breach

    Difficult Task for Court to Analyze Delay and Disorder on Construction Project

    2017 Construction Outlook: Slow, Mature Growth, but No Decline, Expected

    Housing Starts Rebound in U.S. as Inflation Eases: Economy

    Corps Issues Draft EIS for Controversial Alaskan Copper Mine

    There’s Still No Amazon for Housing, But Fintech’s Working on It

    Reduce Suicide Risk Among Employees in Remote Work Areas

    Daily Reports – The Swiss Army Knife of Project Documentation

    N.J. Appellate Court Applies Continuous Trigger Theory in Property Damage Case and Determines “Last Pull” for Coverage

    Washington Court Denies Subcontractor’s Claim Based on Contractual Change and Notice Provisions

    Unesco Denies Claim It Cleared Construction of Zambezi Dam

    Connecticut Supreme Court Again Asked to Determine the Meaning of Collapse

    Wilke Fleury Attorneys Awarded Sacramento Business Journal’s Best of the Bar

    Colorado’s Federal District Court Finds Carriers Have Joint and Several Defense Duties

    Defenses Raised Three-Years Too Late Estop Insurer’s Coverage Denial
    Corporate Profile

    SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
    DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

    The Seattle, Washington Building Expert Group is comprised from a number of credentialed construction professionals possessing extensive trial support experience relevant to construction defect and claims matters. Leveraging from more than 25 years experience, BHA provides construction related trial support and expert services to the nation's most recognized construction litigation practitioners, Fortune 500 builders, commercial general liability carriers, owners, construction practice groups, and a variety of state and local government agencies.

    Building Expert News & Info
    Seattle, Washington

    Ortega Outbids Pros to Build $10 Billion Property Empire

    March 19, 2014 —
    Amancio Ortega Gaona, already the world’s fourth-richest person based on the success of his Zara fashion retail stores, has quietly amassed a real estate empire worth as much as $10 billion and is emerging as a formidable competitor for prime properties from London to Beverly Hills. Relying on all-cash offers, he has outbid the world’s biggest institutional funds and professional property investors, such as Tishman Speyer Properties LP. “He’s at the very highest levels of high net worth investment and competing with some of the biggest sovereign wealth funds for the primest properties in the market,” said Joseph Kelly, director of market analysis for Real Capital Analytics in London, a real estate research firm. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Jesse Drucker, Bloomberg
    Mr. Drucker may be contacted at jdrucker4@bloomberg.net

    Property Insurance Exclusion: Leakage of Water Over 14 Days or More

    July 10, 2018 —
    The recent opinion of Whitley v. American Integrity Ins. Co. of Florida, 43 Fla.L.Weekly D1503a (Fla. 5th DCA 2018), as a follow-up to this article on the property insurance exclusion regarding the “constant or repeated seepage or leakage of water…over a period of 14 or more days,” is a beneficial opinion to insureds. In this case, the insured had a vacation home. A plumbing leak occurred that caused water damage to the home. The plumbing leak occurred during a period of time that lasted approximately 30 days. For this reason, the property insurer denied the claim per the exclusion that the policy does not cover loss caused by repeated leakage of water over a period of 14 or more days from a plumbing system. Summary judgment was granted by the trial court in favor of the insurer based on this exclusion. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Florida Construction Legal Updates
    Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dadelstein@gmail.com

    Court Grants Summary Judgment to Insurer in HVAC Defect Case

    August 04, 2011 —

    The US District Court in Colorado has determined in the case of RK Mechanical, Inc. v. Travelers Property Casualty Company of America that Travelers did not breach its insurance contract when it refused to cover RK Mechanical.

    RK Mechanical performed an HVAC installation for a residential project for which J.E. Dunn Rocky Mountain was the general contractor. As part of the work, RK “installed approximately one hundred seventy-one CPVC flanges, which were manufactured by Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company.” Two of these flanges failed in June, 2009 leading to water damage. RK replaced the cracked flanges and engaged in water remediation. “Travelers paid Dunn and RK for the costs associated with the water damage associated with the Flange Failure.” The court notes that Travelers did not pay for the cracked flanges, however.

    Subsequently, RK examined the remaining flanges, finding many cracked ones. These were replaced with new ones. Later, all the Charlotte flanges were replaced with ones from another manufacturer. RK applied for coverage.

    All sides brought in their experts: “Microbac Laboratories, Inc. prepared a report on behalf of RK concluding that the Flange Failure was due, in part, to an assembly or workmanship defect in addition to manufacturing defects in the flanges. Higgins & Associates prepared a report on behalf of Travelers concluding that the flanges failed due to improper installation. Plastic Failure Labs prepared a report on behalf of the flange manufacturer concluding that the flanges failed due to improper installation by RK.”

    At this point, Travelers denied coverage. RK sued alleging that the coverage for flange failure and water damage implicitly includes mitigation costs. The court rejected this claim, noting it would do so even if Travelers had paid for the replacement of the first two flanges. Nor did the court find that replacement of the faulty flanges is not "a covered cause of loss." RK also argued that as it was required to mitigate, Travelers was obligated to cover costs. However, the court found that “the mitigation costs expended by RK were not incurred in an effort to avoid damages from a potential breach of contract by Travelers.” The court additionally noted that despite RK’s claims, the Colorado courts have not found a common law duty to mitigate. Finally, the court found that the exclusions in the policy were not in violation of public policy.

    Read the court’s decision…

    Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of

    Maybe Supervising Qualifies as Labor After All

    May 22, 2023 —
    Remember back in 2021 when I “mused” about Dickson v. Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland et al.? Remember how the Eastern District of Virginia held that mere supervision does not qualify as “labor” under the federal Miller Act? Well, the 4th Circuit recently weighed in on the appeal of that case and had some interesting things to say about the definition of labor. As a quick reminder, Plaintiff worked as a project manager on a project to repair and upgrade certain stairs at the Pentagon. Plaintiff subcontracted with prime contractor Forney Enterprises Inc. on this project. On Dec. 20, 2018, the prime contract was terminated. Plaintiff filed the Miller Act suit on Feb. 5, 2020. Dickson alleged that Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland, or F&D, must pay him, pursuant to the Miller Act, the amount he is owed for the labor he performed on the project. Now before the district court were cross-motions for summary judgment. In evaluating Plaintiff’s claims, the district court examined the defendant’s claims that (1) Dickson’s work did not qualify as “Labor” under the Miller Act, and (2) that the suit was not timely filed. The Eastern District of Virginia court agreed with both arguments. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
    Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

    Colorado’s Federal District Court Finds Carriers Have Joint and Several Defense Duties

    July 31, 2013 —
    An issue that has plagued builders in Colorado construction defect litigation is the difficulty of getting additional insured carriers to fully participate in the builder’s defense, oftentimes leaving the builder to fund its own defense during the course of the litigation. Many additional insurers offer a variety of positions regarding why they will not pay for fees and costs during the course of a lawsuit. Some insurers argue that, until after trial, it is impossible to determine its proper share of the defense, and therefore cannot make any payments until the liability is determined as to all of the potentially contributing policies. (This is often referred to as the “defense follows indemnity” approach.) Others may make an opening contribution to defense fees and costs, but fall silent as fees and costs accumulate. In such an event, the builder may be forced to fund all or part of its own defense, while the uncooperative additional insured carrier waits for the end of the lawsuit or is faced with other legal action before it makes other contributions. Recent orders in two, currently ongoing, U.S. District Court cases provide clarity on the duty to defend in Colorado, holding that multiple insurers’ duty to defend is joint and several. The insured does not have to go without a defense while the various insurers argue amongst themselves as to which insurer pays what share. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Tred Eyerly
    Tred Eyerly can be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

    Millennials Want Houses, Just Like Everybody Else

    September 17, 2014 —
    The proportion of homeownership among young adults has fallen from a third to a quarter over the past half-century. But the idea that today’s millennials are allergic to deeds and mortgages is a myth, says a report based on a survey of more than 1,000 Americans aged 18-29 by the Demand Institute, a nonprofit jointly operated by the Conference Board and Nielsen (NLSN). “Like most myths, there is some truth here—but only some,” says the report’s introduction. The true part is that millennials are financially squeezed because of “graduating into a weak job market with growing student loan debt,” Jeremy Burbank, a Demand Institute vice president, said in a statement. The false part, the report says, is that millennials don’t want to own their homes. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Peter Coy, Bloomberg
    Mr. Coy may be contacted at pcoy3@bloomberg.net

    Indictments Issued in Las Vegas HOA Scam

    January 22, 2013 —
    A federal grand jury has indicted eleven individuals involved in the Las Vegas homeowners association scam. Leon Benzer, Keith Gregory, and Barry Levinson were all indicted for their roles in the scam, where conspirators took over homeowners associations in order to profit from construction defect suits. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, all eleven were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Mr. Levinson's license to practice law has been suspended due to an investigation that he misappropriated client funds. Mr. Benzer has been described as the "mastermind" of the scam. Twenty-eight defendants have plead guilty, with all but one agreeing to cooperate with investigators. The report quotes William C. Woerner, the acting special agent in charge of the FBI in Las Vegas, as saying that "today's indictment demonstrates the continued commitment of the FBI and its law enforcement partners to identify and root out public corruption at all levels." Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of

    To Ease Housing Crunch, Theme Parks Are Becoming Homebuilders

    January 29, 2024 —
    For visitors, Universal Studios Florida offers a chance to visit a fantastical land full of wizards, Minions and various characters from NBC Universal’s many film and television properties. But for the roughly 28,000 men and women who work at the 840-acre theme park and resort complex in Orlando, the troubles of the real world — like the rising cost of housing — are not far away. Central Florida has seen some of the nation’s fastest pandemic-era rent increases, thanks to a confluence of job growth, migration and housing underproduction that has put a strain on residents. The average tenant in the region saw their monthly rent jump by $600 between early 2020 and early 2023. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area has one of the worst affordable housing shortages in the US, with only 15 available units for every 100 extremely low-income renter households. The dire need for workforce housing is behind the entertainment conglomerate’s latest project in Central Florida: a 1,000-unit mixed-use development, set to open in 2026, that promises to give tenants who work in the service industry a short commute to the constellation of tourist attractions and hotels nearby. To launch the project, Universal donated 20 acres of land adjacent to the Orange County convention center. Called Catchlight Crossings and built in partnership with local developer Wendover Housing Partners, the project broke ground in November. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Patrick Sisson, Bloomberg