Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Meet the Forum's ADR Neutrals: TOM NOCAR

March 25, 2024 — Marissa L. Downs - The Dispute Resolver
Company: Hahn Loeser & Parks, LLP Office Location: Columbus, Ohio Email: tnocar@hahnlaw.com Website: https://www.hahnlaw.com/professionals/j-thomas-nocar/ Law School: The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Types of ADR services offered: Arbitration and Mediation Affiliated ADR organizations: AAA Construction Panel Geographic area served: Nationwide Q: Describe the path you took to becoming an ADR neutral. A: I am a former builder turned construction attorney. I spent 26 years building before going to law school. I’ve worn every hat in the industry—D/B business owner, owner’s rep, CM at risk, GC, design/builder, subcontractor, and vendor at some point in my prior career. I chose to adapt these experiences to a law career in 2009 with the focus of practicing construction law. Now I commonly represent commercial builders and developers. AAA added me to the Construction Roster in 2022. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Marissa L. Downs, Laurie & Brennan, LLP
Ms. Downs may be contacted at mdowns@lauriebrennan.com

Texas Court Requires Insurer to Defend GC Despite Breach of Contract Exclusion

December 19, 2018 — Ashley L. Cooper - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
In Mt. Hawley Insurance Co. v. Slay Engineering, et al.,1 a Texas federal court ruled in favor of a general contractor, finding that its insurer had a duty to defend it in a construction defect case filed by the owner. The decision adds more clarity to the interpretation of the subcontractor exception to the “Damage to Your Work” exclusion as well as the Breach of Contract exclusion, which has been the subject of several cases coming out of Texas over the past decade. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ashley L. Cooper, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Ms. Cooper may be contacted at alc@sdvlaw.com

U.S. Supreme Court Halts Enforcement of the OSHA Vaccine or Test Mandate

January 17, 2022 — Stephen E. Irving, Kevin J. O’Connor, Aaron C. Schlesinger & Lauren Rayner Davis - Peckar & Abramson
The United States Supreme Court today stayed enforcement of the OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to require employees either be “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing. The ruling immediately stops enforcement of the rule which had gone into effect on January 10, 2022. Today’s order raises significant doubt as to whether the ETS requirement will ever take effect in its current form. A 6 to 3 majority of the Supreme Court justices issued the profound statement that the parties opposed to the rule “are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the Secretary lacked authority to impose the mandate.” The Court went on to state that the OSH Act does not authorize the agency to “set . . . broad public health measures,” such as the found in the current emergency standard. Reprinted courtesy of Stephen E. Irving, Peckar & Abramson, Kevin J. O’Connor, Peckar & Abramson, Aaron C. Schlesinger, Peckar & Abramson and Lauren Rayner Davis, Peckar & Abramson Mr. Irving may be contacted at sirving@pecklaw.com Mr. O'Connor may be contacted at koconnor@pecklaw.com Mr. Schlesinger may be contacted at aschlesinger@pecklaw.com Ms. Davis may be contacted at ldavis@pecklaw.com Read the court decision
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Chicago’s Bungalows Are Where the City Comes Together

March 06, 2022 — Zach Mortice - Bloomberg
In Chicago, there are plenty of reasons for South Side residents to keep Northsiders at arm’s length. This includes the North Side’s nonsensical lack of numbered streets, opposed baseball fandoms, and the outsized power of the city’s wealthier half — an imbalance that has created one of the most striking geographic divides between rich and poor, white and Black, in American urban life. But for Chicago historian and native Southsider Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, there’s a quick way for a Northsider to break through this legacy and offer at least one piece of common ground: Say that you live in a bungalow. “We have bungalows on the South Side too,” Thomas says. “If you’re good enough for a bungalow, then you’re cool with me.” All over the city, these humble houses are a remarkably consistent presence. It’s estimated that Chicago boasts 80,000 original bungalows — a third of the city’s single-family housing stock — located across a U-shaped band four to seven miles from the city center called the Bungalow Belt. In a city riven by inequality and resentment, bungalows are one of the few things that white, Black and Latino Chicagoans all love together. “The Chicago Bungalow is a unifying thing,” says Thomas. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Zach Mortice, Bloomberg

MTA Implements Revised Contractors Debarment Regulations

July 06, 2020 — Steven M. Charney, Gregory H. Chertoff & Paul Monte - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
On June 3, 2020, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (“MTA”) published and implemented revised regulations pertaining to the debarment of contractors. The revised regulations address many of the deep concerns raised by the contracting community. Under relevant administrative procedure, the MTA publication of the revised regulations starts a 45 day notice period before the regulations can be adopted as final. The prior regulations essentially required that debarment occur upon a purely formulaic calculation establishing that a contractor: 1) was more than 10% late, or 2) had submitted invalid claims that exceeded the adjusted contract price by a measure of 10%. The revised regulations represent improvements over the prior regulations. Critically, the revised regulations address the primary concern raised by the contracting community, that being the mandate of purely formulaic debarment. Instead, the revised regulations establish a process that includes greater flexibility and discretion before debarment may ensue. Reprinted courtesy of Peckar & Abramson, P.C. attorneys Steven M. Charney, Gregory H. Chertoff and Paul Monte Mr. Charney may be contacted at scharney@pecklaw.com Mr. Chertoff may be contacted at gchertoff@pecklaw.com Mr. Monte may be contacted at pmonte@pecklaw.com Read the court decision
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What You Need to Know About CARB’s In-Use Off-Road Diesel Regulations

May 20, 2024 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
In November 2022, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved amendments to . . . wait for it . . . its “In-Use Off-Road Diesel-Fueled Fleet” regulations – that enough hyphens for you – which took effect on January 1, 2024. The purpose of the regulations is to reduce emissions from off-road equipment, many of which are used by construction contractors, such as forklifts, bulldozers, cranes and excavators. Are these new regulations? Yes and no. CARB has regulated in-use off-road diesel-fueled vehicles since 2008 and has periodically amended these regulations. The most recent amendments take effect on January 1, 2024. What vehicles do the regulations apply to? The regulations apply to two classes of vehicles (1) self-propelled off-road diesel-fueled vehicles of 25 horsepower (hp) or more; and (2) two-engine vehicles other than on-road two-engine sweepers. The regulations apply to both owned as well as rented and leased vehicles. As used in this article, the term “vehicle(s)” refers to these two classes of vehicles. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Mississippi River Spends 40 Days At Flood Stage, Mayors Push for Infrastructure Funding

June 18, 2019 — Jeff Yoders - Engineering News-Record
As record flooding continues across the Midwest, the region’s mayors and the Army Corps of Engineers are looking for solutions to mitigate future floods. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jeff Yoders, ENR
Mr. Yoders may be contacted at yodersj@enr.com

California Supreme Court Finds Negligent Supervision Claim Alleges An Occurrence

July 21, 2018 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Answering a question posed by the Ninth Circuit, the California Supreme Court found that a suit against a employer for negligent hiring, retention and supervision of a employee who intentionally injures a third party alleges an occurrence under a CGL policy. Liberty Surplus Co. Corp. v. Ledesma & Meyer Construction Co., 2018 Cal. LEXIS 4063 (Cal. June 4, 2018) Ledesma & Meyer Construction Company (L&M) contracted with the school district to manage a construction project at a middle school. L&M hired Darold Hecht as an assistant superintendent on the project. In 2010, Jane Doe, a 13-year-old student at the school, sued alleging that Hecht had sexually abused her. Doe’s claims included a cause of action against L&M for negligent hiring, retaining, and supervising Hecht. 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

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES