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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


    2013 May Be Bay Area’s Best Year for Commercial Building

    New ANSI Requirements for Fireplace Screens

    Recent Developments Involving Cedell v. Farmers Insurance Company of Washington

    Florida Passes Tort Reform Bill

    KONE is Shaking Up the Industry with BIM

    A Trivial Case

    City Development with Interactive 3D Models

    Why Is California Rebuilding in Fire Country? Because You’re Paying for It

    Mass. Gas Leak Follows NTSB Final Report, Call for Reforms

    Trump Tower Is Now One of NYC’s Least-Desirable Luxury Buildings

    City Council Authorizes Settlement of Basement Flooding Cases

    Sun, Sand and Stir-Fry? Miami Woos Chinese for Property: Cities

    No Prejudicial Error in Refusing to Give Jury Instruction on Predominant Cause

    Home Sales and Stock Price Up for D. R. Horton

    Hunton Insurance Partner, Larry Bracken, Elected to the American College of Coverage Counsel

    D&O Insurer Must Cover Mortgage Broker’s $15 Million Settlement of Alleged False Claims Act Violations

    Century Communities Acquires Dunhill Homes Las Vegas Operations

    The Final Nail: Ongoing Repairs Do Not Toll the Statute of Repose

    No Indemnity After Insured Settles Breach of Implied Warranty of Habitability Claims

    First-Time Buyers Home Sales Stagnates

    California Court of Appeal: Inserting The Phrase “Ongoing Operations” In An Additional Endorsement Is Not Enough to Preclude Coverage for Completed Operations

    Another Reason to Love Construction Mediation (Read: Why Mediation Works)

    “Based On”… What Exactly? NJ Appellate Division Examines Phrase and Estops Insurer From Disclaiming Coverage for 20-Month Delay

    Insurer in Bad Faith Due to Adjuster's Failure to Keep Abreast of Case Law

    Road Project to Improve Access to Peru's Machu Picchu Site

    What Cal/OSHA’s “Permanent” COVID Standards Mean for Employers

    Forget Backyard Pools, Build a Swimming Pond Instead

    After 15 Years, Settlement Arrested at San Francisco's Millennium Tower

    North Carolina Learns More Lessons From Latest Storm

    CDJ’s Year-End Review: The Top 12 CD Topics of 2015

    Appellate Court of Maryland Construes Notice Conditions of A312 Performance Bond in Favor of Surety

    Alert: AAA Construction Industry Rules Update

    Giving Insurance Carrier Prompt Notice of Claim to Avoid “Untimely Notice” Defense

    Federal Courts Reject Insurers’ Attempts to Recoup Defense Costs Expended Under Reservation of Rights

    Supreme Court Overrules Longstanding Decision Supporting Collection of Union Agency Fees

    Providing Notice of Claims Under Your Construction Contract

    More Regulations for Federal Contractors

    Rhode Island Closes One Bridge and May Have Burned Others with Ensuing Lawsuit

    Gatluak Ramdiet Named to The National Black Lawyers’ “Top 40 Under 40” List

    New Window Insulation Introduced to U.S. Market

    The "Dark Overlord" Strikes The Practice Of Law: What Law Firms Can Do To Protect Themselves

    Taking Care of Infrastructure – Interview with Marilyn Grabowski

    Structural Engineer Found Liable for Defects that Rendered a Condominium Dangerously Unsafe

    Summary Judgment in Construction Defect Case Cannot Be Overturned While Facts Are Still in Contention in Related Cases

    Loss of Use From Allegedly Improper Drainage System Triggers Defense Under CGL Policy

    Three Firm Members Are Top 100 Super Lawyers & Ten Are Recognized As Super Lawyers Or Rising Stars In 2018

    Practical Advice: Indemnification and Additional Insured Issues Revisited

    First Lumber, Now Drywall as Canada-U.S. Trade Tensions Escalate

    Construction Calamity: Risk Transfer Tips for Contractors After a Catastrophic Loss

    Disrupt a Broken Industry—The Industrial Construction Sandbox
    Corporate Profile

    SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
    DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

    Leveraging from more than 7,000 construction defect and claims related expert witness designations, the Seattle, Washington Building Expert Group provides a wide range of trial support and consulting services to Seattle's most acknowledged construction practice groups, CGL carriers, builders, owners, and public agencies. Drawing from a diverse pool of construction and design professionals, BHA is able to simultaneously analyze complex claims from the perspective of design, engineering, cost, or standard of care.

    Building Expert News & Info
    Seattle, Washington

    Chicago Cubs Agree to Make Wrigley Field ADA Improvements to Settle Feds' Lawsuit

    December 03, 2024 —
    Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs have entered into a settlement with the U.S. Dept. of Justice over renovations to Wrigley Field, federal and Cubs officials announced Oct. 31. As part of the settlement, the team agreed to update Wrigley Field with more accessibility options for people with disabilities. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of James Leggate, ENR
    Mr. Leggate may be contacted at leggatej@enr.com

    LEED Certified Courthouse Square Negotiating With Insurers, Mulling Over Demolition

    June 06, 2011 —

    Apparently, Courthouse Square is still unresolved. The County hasnow hired an attorney to handle its insurance claim against Affiliated FM. Is there a lawsuit coming?

    Right now, no lawsuit is expected. According to officials, the insurer has been acting in good faith. But, its been quite a while since Salem officials learned that the Courthouse Square building had significant concrete issues that would result in probable demolition of the LEED certified building.

    If you have yet to hear about Courthouse Square, let me fill you in briefly. The Salem building was substantially completed in 2000 and LEED certified by the US Green Building Council in 2002. The project cost more than $30 Million to complete and the building was revered for its innovation as a crowning achievement for city leaders.

    But, structural problems in the building’s core were discovered as early as 2002, writes Chris Cheatham of Green Building Law Update. Final tests earlier in the year, determined that the building had to be vacated. The building has been clear since July 2010.

    Read the full story…

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

    Read the court decision
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    Reprinted courtesy of

    Homeowner may pursue negligence claim for construction defect, Oregon Supreme Court holds

    March 01, 2011 —

    In Abraham v. T. Henry, Oregon’s court of appeals held that a Oregon’s court of appeals holds that a homeowner may sue builder for common law negligence absent a contractual provision that forecloses such a claim. Plaintiff homeowners hired defendant contractors to build a house. When plaintiffs discovered defects in the construction years later, they sued for negligence.

    The Court of Appeals held that the parties’ contractual relationship did not prevent a negligence claim, and that plaintiffs were entitled to pursue a negligence per se claim based on a violation of the Oregon Building Code.

    The Supreme Court affirmed, but on a somewhat different basis. First, according to the Court, a construction defect claim concerns damage to property — and not mere economic losses — and thus is not barred by the economic loss doctrine. Second, the existence

    Read Full Story...

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    Reprinted courtesy of

    Two Worthy Insurance Topics: (1) Bad Faith, And (2) Settling Without Insurer’s Consent

    February 20, 2023 —
    The recent Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision, American Builders Insurance Company v. Southern-Owners Insurance Company, 56 F.4th 938 (11th Cir. 2023), is an insurer versus insurer case that touches on two important insurance topics: (1) common law bad faith against an insurance company, and (2) an insurer’s affirmative defense that an insured settled a claim without its consent. The Eleventh Circuit provides invaluable legal discussion on these topics that any insured (and an insured’s counsel) need to know and appreciate. While this article won’t go into the granular facts as referenced in the opinion, it will go into the law because it is the law the facts of a case MUST cater to and address. In this case, a person performing subcontracting work fell from a roof without fall protection and became paralyzed from the waist down. The general contractor had a primary liability policy and an excess policy. The general contractor’s primary liability insurer investigated the accident and assessed the claim. The subcontractor’s liability insurer, which was the primary insurance policy (the general contractor was an additional insured for work the subcontractor performed for the general contractor), did little to investigate and assess the claim and then refused to pay any amount to settle the underlying claim or honor its defense and indemnity obligation to the general contractor. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
    Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

    In Pricey California, Renters Near Respite From Landlord Gouging

    September 16, 2019 —
    The housing crisis engulfing California has state lawmakers racing to pass bills that would boost construction and stop corporate landlords from egregiously jacking up rents. The bills overcame key hurdles last week and are due for final votes before the legislature adjourns on Sept. 13. The hardest-fought measure would set a higher standard for evictions and cap annual rent increases at 5% plus the rate of inflation. While that’s below the typical pace of lease hikes -- and the bill has many caveats for landlords -- it would still mark the state’s most significant new protection for tenants in decades. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Noah Buhayar, Bloomberg

    Wyoming Supreme Court Picks a Side After Reviewing the Sutton Rule

    January 16, 2024 —
    In a matter of first impression, the Supreme Court of Wyoming (Supreme Court), in West American Insurance Company v. Black Dog Consulting Inc., No. S-23-0052, 2023 WY 109, 2023 Wyo. LEXIS 111, examined whether a landlord’s insurer could pursue a subrogation claim against a tenant who caused a fire loss. The Supreme Court, applying a case-by-case approach, found that the insurer could not subrogate against the tenant. West American Insurance Company (West) insured Profile Properties (Profile), which owned commercial property in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Black Dog Consulting Inc., d/b/a C.H. Yarber (Yarber) leased commercial space from Profile where it operated a metal fabrication business. The lease agreement between Profile and Yarber required Yarber to pay the full expense of Profile’s blanket insurance policy, which included general commercial liability insurance and fire and extended coverage insurance on the building. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Ryan Bennett, White and Williams LLP
    Mr. Bennett may be contacted at bennettr@whiteandwilliams.com

    U.S. Construction Value Flat at End of Summer

    December 04, 2013 —
    The Census Bureau has released it numbers for the value of construction put in place for September and October, and while further numbers are forthcoming, this current report shows little change. The value of construction dropped a miniscule 0.3% in September, however, residential construction actually showed a slight increase. October then showed a 0.8% increase, but then private residential construction dropped by 0.5%. In all, however, by the end of October, private residential spending was up 17.8% over the prior year. As with other sectors of public spending, public residential spending dropped 3.4% from the prior year. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of

    CGL Policy May Not Cover Cybersecurity and Data-Related Losses

    March 25, 2024 —
    The construction industry, like many other industries, has experienced an increased reliance on, and implementation of, technology in the past few years. Smart phones and tablets are used on most project sites, computers are an integral part of the planning process, and various software programs are used throughout the construction process. Likewise, much of the machinery and equipment used during construction (e.g., total stations, trucks, tower cranes) is interconnected, and in some cases, operated or monitored remotely.1 With an increase in technology comes a risk of cybersecurity and data-related losses. Many large businesses purchase Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) insurance and assume cybersecurity and data-related losses are covered. Unfortunately, this is generally not the case. CGL policies typically cover three general types of damage: bodily injury, property damage, and advertising injury. Read the court decision
    Read the full story...
    Reprinted courtesy of Susana Arce, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
    Ms. Arce may be contacted at SArce@sdvlaw.com