FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Renovation Contractors: Be Careful How You Disclose Your Projects

December 09, 2011 — Derek J. Lindenschmidt, Colorado Construction Litigation

In Palu and Beyer v. Toney, 2011 WL 2560249 (Bankr. D. Colo.), the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado determined that a Colorado District Court order granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiff home buyers was binding on the Bankruptcy Court in the defendant contractor’s bankruptcy proceeding based on issue preclusion.

Pertinent to this column is the subject matter of the summary judgment motion: Colorado’s Seller’s Property Disclosure (Form LC-18-5-04). In the underlying state court action, the plaintiff home buyers filed a motion for summary judgment contending that the defendant contractor represented to them, through the Seller’s Property Disclosure, that there were no present or past conditions involving moisture or water problems, roof problems or leaks, skylight problems, or gutter downspout problems.

In granting plaintiffs’ motion, the state court determined that the defendant contractor made these representations on her Seller’s Property Disclosure despite witnessing water leaking from the skylight onto the floor and being aware of repairs to the roof, skylight, and interior drywall prior to the sale of the property.

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Reprinted courtesy of Derek J. Lindenschmidt of Higgins, Hopkins, McClain & Roswell, LLP. Mr. Lindenschmidt can be contacted at lindenschmidt@hhmrlaw.com

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Housing Gains Not Leading to Hiring

October 25, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Although construction spending has been rising steadily, the Labor Department noted that most of the 20,000 jobs added by the construction industry in September were for nonresidential construction. In a year that saw an 18% gain in residential construction spending, there was only an increase of 4.8% in employment. The lack of hiring seems to indicate a lingering lack of confidence in the homebuilding market. Employers are having workers do overtime, rather than employ additional people. Read the court decision
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The ‘Sole Option’ Arbitration Provision in Construction Contracts

July 16, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
On his Best Practices Construction Law blog, Matthew Devries discussed how the “at its sole option…has the right to demand arbitration” can “be a good provision if you are the party who has that option.” For instance, Devries cites the case Archer Western Contractors, LLC v Holder Construction Company, where “the Georgia Court of Appeals recently affirmed the trial court’s decision to grant a contractor’s motion to compel arbitration with a ‘sole option’ provision.” Devries stated that “it is important to review carefully the disputes clause in your construction contract to fully understand who has the right to demand arbitration and what rules will apply.” Read the court decision
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ETF Bulls Bet Spring Will Thaw the U.S. Housing Market

April 08, 2014 — Corinne Gretler – Bloomberg
Build it and they will come, if it’s not too chilly. Traders have turned bullish on a security that tracks home construction companies, appliance makers and furniture retailers as spring finally ends the harsh winter. As the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) heads for its first weekly gain since February, investors are buying options betting that the rebound will keep going. The cost of bullish contracts has risen to the highest versus bearish ones in 2 ½ years. The ETF has gained 2.2 percent this week. The exchange-traded fund of companies such as Ryland Group Inc., Whirlpool Corp. and Home Depot Inc. has rebounded 8 percent after reaching its lowest level this year on Feb. 3 as investors attribute weakness in the housing market to winter weather. Between December and February, snow covered 1.42 million square miles of the continental U.S., the 10th-largest snow cover in records going back to 1966, according to the National Climatic Data Center. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Corinne Gretler, Bloomberg
Ms. Gretler may be contacted at cgretler1@bloomberg.net

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Georgia Court of Appeals Upholds Denial of Coverage Because Insurance Broker Lacked Agency to Accept Premium Payment

December 07, 2020 — Lawrence J. Bracken II, Michael S. Levine & Rachel E. Hudgins - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
In American Reliable Insurance Company v. Lancaster, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the denial of a property insurer’s summary judgment motion concerning the insurer’s denial of a fire loss claim. The basis of the denial was that the policyholders had failed to pay the policy premium. The policyholders, Charlie and Wanda Lancaster, claimed that they had paid their policy premiums for several years to their insurance agent, Macie Yawn. In October 2014, American Reliable mailed a renewal notice to the Lancasters notifying them that premium payments had to be made directly to the insurer. After it did not receive payment from the Lancasters, American Reliable sent them a cancellation notice in December 2014, again notifying them that payments be made directly to the insurer. The Lancasters denied having received either notice from American Reliable, but the record included a receipt for certificate of mailing. After the Lancaster’s home burned down in 2015, American Reliable denied coverage on the grounds that the policy had been cancelled for nonpayment of premium. In the subsequent coverage action, the trial court denied American Reliable’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that a factual issue existed as to the actual and apparent agency of the insurance agent, Yawn. On appeal, the Court of Appeals found that the trial court erred in deciding that there was a factual issue concerning Yawn’s agency. Specifically, the Court of Appeals ruled that the record showed American Reliable had terminated Yawn’s agency to accept policy premiums, and that the Lancaster’s received notice of that termination in the renewal and cancellation notices. In addition to determining that Yawn was not an actual agent, the Court held that Yawn did not have apparent agency, because the notices sent to the Lancasters stated that the premium payment was to be paid to American Reliable, not to the agent. Reprinted courtesy of Lawrence J. Bracken II, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Rachel E. Hudgins, Hunton Andrews Kurth Mr. Bracken may be contacted at lbracken@HuntonAK.com Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com Ms. Hudgins may be contacted at rhudgins@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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Understanding California’s Pure Comparative Negligence Law

November 13, 2023 — Yaron Shaham - Kahana Feld
In order for a plaintiff to prove a defendant is negligent, the plaintiff must prove the defendant (1) owed a duty to plaintiff, (2) breached that duty, (3) the breach was the actual and proximate cause of plaintiff’s injury, and (4) the resulting monetary damage. However, for both plaintiffs and defendants it is not an all or nothing game in California. This is because California is a pure Comparative Negligence state. California’s Comparative Negligence law provides that even if a plaintiff is deemed 99% at fault, the plaintiff can still recover 1% in damages from a defendant. Thus, even if a plaintiff is deemed to be more than 50% (or even 99%) at fault for the incident, the plaintiff could still recover some monetary amount, or the defendant will still have to pay plaintiff, depending on how you see it. In most instances, a jury decides what percentage of fault to assign to each party. Just as a plaintiff must prove he/she/its negligence case against a defendant, if the defendant claims plaintiff was partially responsible for the incident, the defendant must prove plaintiff was also negligent and said negligence contributed to plaintiff’s injuries. The total amount of monetary responsibility distributed among all defendants and plaintiffs must equal 100%. As crazy as it may sound, a plaintiff found to be 99.9% at fault, is still entitled to recover 0.01% from a defendant in California. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Yaron Shaham, Kahana Feld
Mr. Shaham may be contacted at yshaham@kahanafeld.com

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Best Lawyers® Recognizes 38 White and Williams Lawyers

September 13, 2021 — White and Williams LLP
White and Williams is proud to announce that 30 lawyers were recognized in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® 2022 and eight were recognized as “Ones to Watch.” Inclusion in Best Lawyers® is based entirely on peer-review. The methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. Reprinted courtesy of White and Williams LLP Read the full story... Read the court decision
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A Construction Stitch in Time

October 28, 2015 — Christopher G. Hill – Construction Law Musings
It’s a cliche for a reason that “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine.” Why? Because it is almost always cheaper and more efficient in the long run to get something right the first time than to fix it later. This old adage is true in life, and particularly true in the world of construction. Whether it’s measuring twice before making your bid, checking with your subcontractors and suppliers to be sure they haven’t missed anything when giving you a price, or yes (and you knew this was coming), being sure that your contracts are written as they should be and cover the bases. To use another construction related analogy, these types of basic practices create a great foundation for your construction project(s) that will (hopefully) see you through to a successful and profitable construction project. Aside from the last of my examples, how can adding a knowledgeable construction attorney help with laying this foundation? We construction lawyers spend our days either dealing with problems that have occurred (not ideal), anticipating risks that could occur (better, though can lead to a relatively cynical world view), and advising clients before the fact of the potential risks and how to best avoid them (best). Speaking from experience, I would much rather spend my time keeping my construction clients making money and avoiding the pitfalls of the “Murphy’s Law” governed world of construction than spend time with them in court. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Christopher G. Hill, Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

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