Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Consultant Says It's Time to Overhaul Construction Defect Laws in Nevada

February 07, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Randi Thompson, a Republican political and media consultant, told the Reno Gazette-Journal what she wished Governor Brian Sandoval had said during his recent State of the State address in Nevada. Construction defect litigation was one of the issues that Ms. Thompson said that Governor Sandoval should have addressed. Thompson said that the governor "should have said it's time to get rid of Nevada's horrid construction defect laws." Ms. Thompson said that "these laws extort money from small business subcontractors who likely had nothing whatsoever do to with any real or perceived defect." She attributed the ongoing construction defect scandal in Las Vegas to "bad law." Ms. Thompson said that these issues are unlikely to be addressed, because "the Democrats control both houses in the Legislature" and the issues are "sacred cows to the Democrats' constituents." Read the court decision
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SIG Earnings Advance 21% as U.K. Construction Strengthens

August 13, 2014 — Benjamin Katz – Bloomberg
SIG Plc (SHI) earnings surged 21 percent in the first half as the distributor of building products benefited from a strengthening recovery in the U.K. housing market as well as procurement savings. Underlying operating profit rose to 47.8 million pounds ($80 million) from 39.6 million pounds a year earlier, the Sheffield, England-based company said in a statement today. Sales in the U.K. and Ireland from continuing operations climbed 14 percent to 650 million pounds, offsetting flat revenue in continental Europe. “Trading conditions in the U.K. have continued to gather momentum, led by the revival in the housing market,” Chief Executive Officer Stuart Mitchell said in the statement. “The group’s first-half performance and progress on its strategic initiatives provide a strong base on which to achieve its full-year expectations.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Benjamin Katz, Bloomberg
Mr. Katz may be contacted at bkatz38@bloomberg.net

Liability Policy’s Arbitration Endorsement Applies to Third Party Beneficiaries, Including Additional Insureds

May 11, 2020 — Christopher Kendrick & Valerie A. Moore – Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
In Philadelphia Indemnity Ins. Co. v. SMG Holdings, Inc. (No. C082841; filed 12/31/19, ord. pub. 1/28/20), a California appeals court held that a binding arbitration clause in an insurance policy extends to a third party, such as an additional insured. In Philadelphia v. SMG, Philadelphia issued a general liability policy to a youth organization, Future Farmers of America (FFA), that had contracted to use the Fresno Convention Center for its annual convention. The contract required FFA to obtain liability insurance and to name the property manager, SMG, and the City of Fresno, as additional insureds. Philadelphia issued FFA a commercial lines CGL policy with an endorsement affording coverage to “managers, landlords, or lessors of premises” for “liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of that part of the premises leased or rented” to the named insured. It also covered “any person or organization where required by a written contract executed prior to the occurrence” but only for liability arising from the named insured’s negligence. Reprinted courtesy of Christopher Kendrick, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP and Valerie A. Moore, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP Mr. Kendrick may be contacted at ckendrick@hbblaw.com Ms. Moore may be contacted at vmoore@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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Wheaton to Require Sprinklers in New Homes

November 06, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The town of Wheaton, Illinois is considering a change to its building codes, based on the recommendations made in the 2012 building code, released by the International Code Council. Eighty-two towns in Illinois already require new homes to have fire sprinklers. Wheaton did not adopt any changes from the 2006 or 2009 building code; they are currently using the standards of the 2003 edition. Read the court decision
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Claim for Collapse After Demolition of Building Fails

January 09, 2023 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
After several city citations and the eventual demolition of the insureds' apartment building, their claim for coverage based on collapse was unsuccessful. Barker v. AmGuard Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 202069 (W.D. Mo. Nov. 7, 2022). The plaintiffs purchased a three-story multi-family apartment building on March 9, 2009. Prior to the purchase, steel beams were installed in the basement along the east and south walls. By 2013, the south and east walls were leaning. On March 13, 2017, the city building inspector observed "the foundation failing in several areas and deflection in the south wall." The building inspector issued a citation for a pubic nuisance in violation of the City Code. This was followed by several more citations against plaintiffs. The plaintiffs' inspector reported the basement walls were experiencing "extensive lateral deflections primarily due to the inadequate design of the basement walls." Plaintiffs understood the issues to be "cosmetic.'" They had no work done on the property besides aesthetic upgrades. After additional citations were entered, the building was ordered demolished. 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

Vermont Supreme Court Finds COVID-19 May Damage Property

November 07, 2022 — Michael S. Levine & Lorelie S. Masters - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
As reported on this blog, policyholders have long been of the view that the presence of substances like COVID-19 and its causative virus SARS-CoV-2, which render property dangerous or unfit for normal business operations, should be sufficient to trigger coverage under commercial all-risk insurance, as has been the case for more than 60 years. However, many courts, federal courts in particular, despite decades of pro-policyholder precedent, have embraced the view that “viruses harm people, not [property].” Thirty-one months after the start of the pandemic, the first state high court has gone in a different direction, according greater weight to pro-policyholder precedent. Reprinted courtesy of Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Lorelie S. Masters, Hunton Andrews Kurth Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com Ms. Masters may be contacted at lmasters@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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Construction Defect Litigation at San Diego’s Alicante Condominiums?

March 25, 2011 — Alicante HOA Website

According to recent posts in the Alicante HOA website, construction experts and legal counsel have been retained. The HOA board has been informed that testing of a variety of the building’s components are underway or will begin in the near future.

Williams v. Athletic Field: Hugely Important Lien Case Argued Before Supreme Court

June 17, 2011 — Douglas Reiser, Builders Council Blog

Well, it finally made it. The most important Washington lien case of recent memory was argued in front of the Washington Supreme Court on Tuesday, June 14, 2011. So, what should we all expect?

As I was reading through my RSS feeds this afternoon ? I was stopped dead in my tracks. Williams v . Athletic Field, the Division II case that has been a frequent topic here on Builders Counsel, has finally been argued before the Supreme Court. All of you who have been anxiously awaiting this day, you can check out the Supreme Court submissions by following this link.

The Williams case has been the center of attention for construction lawyers and construction organizations over the past year. Some have called for complete lien law reform, others have tried to patch a hole in the law. Now, we can expect a ruling from the highest court in the state. That ruling will have a major impact on whether the Legislature feels compelled to change lien law.

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Reprinted courtesy of Douglas Reiser of Reiser Legal LLC. Mr. Reiser can be contacted at info@reiserlegal.com

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