Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court Clarifies Pennsylvania’s Strict Liability Standard

January 14, 2015 — William Doerler and Edward Jaeger, Jr. – White and Williams LLP
In Tincher v. Omega Flex, Inc., -- A.3d --, 2014 WL 6474923 (Pa. Nov. 19, 2014), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania discussed the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s products liability law and, overturning prior precedent, clarified the law. In particular, the Court, overturned Azzarello v. Black Brothers Company, 480 Pa. 547, 391 A.2d 1020 (1978), clarified the role of the judge and the jury in products liability cases and settled the question of whether Pennsylvania would adopt the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability §§ 1, et. seq. (Third Restatement) as the standard for deciding Pennsylvania products liability cases. The Tincher decision makes clear that Pennsylvania will continue to apply § 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts (Second Restatement) in products liability cases and that jurors, not the court, will decide the question of whether a product is in a defective condition. Plaintiffs may prove that a product is defective using either the consumer expectations test or the risk-utility test. Background The Tincher case arose out a fire that occurred at the home of Terrance and Judith Tincher on June 20, 2007. The Tinchers alleged that the fire started when a lightning strike near their home caused a small puncture in corrugated steel tubing (CSST) carrying natural gas to a fireplace located in their home. The defendant, Omega Flex, Inc. (Omega Flex) manufactured the CSST. Reprinted courtesy of William Doerler, White and Willams LLP and Edward Jaeger, Jr., White and Williams LLP Mr. Doerler may be contacted at doerlerw@whiteandwilliams.com; Mr. Jaeger may be contacted at jaegere@whiteandwilliams.com Read the court decision
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Toll Brothers Report End of Year Results

December 11, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The largest luxury home builder in the U.S. saw some significant gains in their final quarter for 2013. Their pre-tax income for the year was $150.2 million, up from last year’s $60.7 million, more than doubling. The firm’s revenues went up 65% to $1.04 billion, and the average price of homes was up as well. Toll Brothers is currently selling homes in 232 communities, also increasing over 2012. Due to the upcoming acquisition of Shapell, Toll Brothers projects that at the end of 2014 they will be selling in 250 to 290 communities. Read the court decision
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DA’s Office Checking Workers Comp Compliance

February 10, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

The San Bernardino office of the California District Attorney is partnering with the California Contractor’s State License Board to check if subcontractors are holding the required workers compensation insurance. The High Desert Daily Press reports that the process of checking at sites has been going on for several months.

Investigators visit sites and ask supervisors to provide a list of subcontractors which the state then checks for compliance. One worker was quoted that insurance inspections were so rare that he had never seen one before, despite 20 years in construction.

On one day, investigators in two teams visited fourteen construction sites and reviewed the insurance status of twenty-two firms. Three were found out of compliance and stop work orders were issued.

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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (5/22/24) – Federal Infrastructure Money, Hotel Development Pipelines, and Lab Space Construction

June 17, 2024 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, Virginia’s governor signs two bills into law, $929 billion in outstanding commercial mortgages come due, banks prepare for delinquencies related to office space, and more!

Demand for lab space is set to ramp up, with market activity expected to increase in the coming months. (Joe Burns, Construction Dive)
Federal infrastructure money is keeping the country’s infrastructure woes from getting worse, but that progress will be lost when that funding ends. (Julie Strupp, Construction Dive)
In the first quarter of 2024, several major hotel companies saw their revenues down—or lower than expected—but their development pipelines were up. (Jenna Walters, Hotel Dive)

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

Economic Waste Doctrine and Construction Defects / Nonconforming Work

February 01, 2023 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
I recently did a presentation on the economic waste doctrine. It is an applicable doctrine dealing with construction defects and nonconforming work. When it comes to construction defects and nonconforming work, EVERYTHING starts with your measure of damages. How are you going to prove your damages? Next, what evidence are you going to use to prove your damages? Or, what are the defenses and how do you prove those defenses to a construction defect and nonconforming work claim including the economic waste doctrine? If you are interested in learning more, the below presentation can shed detail. However, don’t rely on the presentation in a vacuum. Work with knowledgeable construction counsel (like me!) that can best position your case whether you are the one proving construction defects and nonconforming work or the one defending against such a claim. This way, if you are arguing economic waste, you are not just throwing it out there, but you are arguing it to actually mean it! Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

State Supreme Court Cases Highlight Importance of Wording in Earth Movement Exclusions

June 21, 2017 — Hannah E. Austin - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
In Erie Insurance Property and Casualty Company v. Chaber, the West Virginia Supreme Court recently held that an insurance policy’s earth movement exclusion was unambiguous and applied to both manmade and natural earth movement. The Court also found that a narrow “ensuing loss” exception to the exclusion that provided coverage for glass breakage resulting from earth movement could not be extended to cover the entire loss. The Erie Insurance Property and Casualty Company (Erie) insured five commercial buildings owned by Dmitri and Mary Chaber. One of the properties was damaged by a landslide, and the Chabers filed a claim with Erie. Erie asserted that the loss was excluded from coverage because the policy excluded coverage for losses caused by earth movement, which was defined to include earthquakes, landslides, subsidence of manmade mines, and earth sinking (aside from sinkhole collapse), rising or shifting. The exclusion stated that it applied “regardless of whether any of the above . . . is caused by an act of nature or is otherwise caused,” and also contained an anti-concurrent causation clause. However, there was an exception for glass breakage caused by earth movement. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Hannah E. Austin, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Ms. Austin may be contacted at hea@sdvlaw.com

Powering Goal Congruence in Construction Through Smart Contracts

February 22, 2021 — Michael Matthews - Construction Executive
The $814 billion U.S. commercial construction market requires a unique assembly of designers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers to work together in a highly orchestrated manner to make sure that the right labor, material, equipment, tools and information all comes together at the right place and time. Alignment and coordination between companies is critical for a project to be successful; completed safely, on time, on budget and resulting in an asset that performs as designed. Yet the industry is slowed by an operating model bogged down by transactional and informational barriers that destroys value across the construction supply chain. Companies are connected through contracts and purchase orders that are undercut by mistrust that yields adversarial relationships and conflicting priorities that result in restricted transparency, elongated payment cycles and an abundance of resource-sucking reconciliations, audits and disputes. With margins already razor thin, company protectionism cascades down from owners, developers and operators to contractors, subcontractors and suppliers with each player focused on optimizing their piece at the expense of the whole. Perhaps this is part of the reason 98% of megaprojects experience cost overruns or delays, 95% of projects are unable to meet even one business objective; and 70% of all construction projects are not completed within 10% of the proposed budget. Reprinted courtesy of Michael Matthews, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Chicago Aldermen Tell Casino Bidders: This Is a Union Town

June 13, 2022 — Shruti Singh - Bloomberg
Several Chicago aldermen on Monday sent gaming companies that are bidding on building the city’s first casino a message: this is a union town. During a special casino committee of the city council hearing on Monday, the aldermen expressed concerns that the three bidders -- Bally’s Corp., Hard Rock International and Rush Street Gaming -- that are seeking to construct and operate a gaming and entertainment complex don’t have a deal with local labor groups. Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jennie Bennett said during the hearing that a deal with labor was part of the requirements laid out in the city’s request for proposals. None of the three bidders have committed to labor standards, and moving forward without an agreement on items such as a living wage “is a slap in the face,” Robert Reiter Jr., president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, said during the public testimony portion of the meeting. The federation represents 300 affiliated unions and their half a million members. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Shruti Singh, Bloomberg

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES