Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Repairs Could Destroy Evidence in Construction Defect Suit

June 28, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Repair work is underway on the Palladium concert hall in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis, a contractor for the project says that the repairs will destroy evidence that they need to defect against additional construction defect allegations. Work stopped in 2009 for three months of repairs after problems were found in the steel roof supports. Steel Supply & Engineering Co. has claimed that the column failures are due to errors in the design. They say that if the repair work continues, it “would result in the spoliation of evidence, and will irreparably harm the defendants, and ultimately adversely affect their ability to protect their rights in the action.” They have asked the court to bring repairs to a stop until they are able to inspect the steel. Read the court decision
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Ten Years After Colorado’s Adverse Possession Amendment: a brief look backwards and forwards

September 25, 2018 — Luke Mecklenburg - Snell & Wilmer Real Estate Litigation Blog
In response to national outrage over an infamous adverse possession case in Boulder, Colorado, in which a lawyer and a judge intentionally took their neighbors’ undeveloped land through adverse possession, the Colorado legislature amended the state’s adverse possession statute (C.R.S. § 38-41-101) to make the claim significantly harder to prove. It did this because it believed “there were insufficient ‘obstacles’ to establishing a claim for adverse possession under the existing law.”[1] Effective July 1, 2008, the amendment created a heightened burden of proof, additional element requirements, and the possibility of a losing defendant recovering money from successful plaintiffs for the value of the land they took and the taxes the defendant had paid on that land. The Boulder case eventually settled, but the resulting statutory amendments have drastically changed the landscape of Colorado’s adverse possession law. Ten years later, this blog post takes a brief look at the amended statute, the impact it has had, and questions that have yet to be resolved. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Luke Mecklenburg, Snell & Wilmer
Mr. Mecklenburg may be contacted at lmecklenburg@swlaw.com

ENR Northwest’s Top Contractors Survey Reveals Regional Uptick

June 25, 2019 — Scott Judy - Engineering News-Record
A year ago, the 25 contractors responding to ENR Northwest’s Top Contractors survey collectively reported roughly $6.4 billion in 2017 revenue from the states of Washington, Oregon and Alaska. This year, the 27 contractors listed below—in alphabetical order—reported more than $8.8 billion in regional revenue for 2018. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Scott Judy, ENR
Mr. Judy may be contacted at judys@enr.com

Motion for Summary Judgment Gets Pooped Upon

December 16, 2023 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
I’ve read some crappy motions over the years, some of which opposing counsel might even attribute to me, but I don’t think I’ve ever written about poop and motions. In Beebe v. Wonderful Pistachio & Almonds LLC, a summary judgment motion filed by a project owner sued by a construction worker for personal injuries caused by bird poop, which in turn caused a nasty fungal infection which spread to his brain, resulted in a not-so-wonderful ending for Wonderful. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Seven Proactive Steps to Avoid Construction Delay Disputes

September 29, 2021 — Michael Pink - Construction Executive
Delays, cost overruns and disputes have long been part of the commercial construction industry, making the work of reactive forensic analysis by consultants and attorneys a necessary component. Yet many internal practices and issues within construction companies strongly correlate with projects that result in legal disputes and financial losses. There are seven proactive steps that can help companies minimize losses and claims. Prepare a Cost- and Resource-Loaded Critical Path Method Schedule This is the first step any contractor can take to establish and document a manpower plan, a timeline and an intended flow for its work. Doing so is beneficial for two reasons: it will become the basis for measuring impacts and variances to both cost and schedule in a delay, dispute or claim setting; and it will serve as a great project management resource or tool. Without thinking through manpower, durations and workflow in great detail at the beginning of the project, contractors put themselves at risk of becoming delayed and blowing the budget. Reprinted courtesy of Michael Pink, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Forget Palm Springs—Santa Fe Is the New Mecca for Modern Architecture

November 19, 2021 — James Tarmy - Bloomberg
The writer Helen Thompson had been a lifelong visitor to Santa Fe, but when she arrived at Georgia O’Keeffe’s home at Ghost Ranch 30 years ago, “I was shocked,” Thompson says. “Everything there was modern: Her furniture was modern; her light fixtures were modern; her art, of course, was modern. And in this rustic setting, the landscape is so powerful, it was all so elemental. That shock stayed with me.” It was an experience, Thompson says, that led her to the conclusion that Santa Fe, long understood as a city filled with vernacular, decorative architecture, was ripe for a rethinking. “I kept wondering, why does something like that look so right here?” she says. “The landscape is so distinctive, and so not-modern, and yet these very precise pieces of furniture looked so right.” Now, with her new book Santa Fe Modern: Contemporary Design in the High Desert (Monacelli, $50), Thompson has cracked the code. “Modern ideas are site-specific, and tied into what’s right for the landscape and the environment,” she says. Naturally, she continues, this conceptual framework works well in a place like New Mexico, where the dramatic horizon meets an even more dramatic sky. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of James Tarmy, Bloomberg

Guidance for Construction Leaders: How Is the Americans With Disabilities Act Applied During the Pandemic?

September 28, 2020 — Molly Gwin - Construction Executive
With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous cities and states have mandated infection control practices, including social distancing, mask requirements and sanitization of work areas and tools. As a result, many construction leaders now have questions as to how government guidance related to COVID-19 interacts with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For example, can a project manager enforce a mask mandate when a construction worker presents a doctor’s excuse noting breathing difficulties? Or, what if the employer is aware that an individual presents a higher risk for severe illness because of an underlying health condition, but that employee does not request an accommodation? Thankfully, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently published guidance relating to these requests that construction leaders can reference. While our goal is to summarize that guidance and provide practical advice for the construction sector, this article does not substitute for situation specific legal counsel. SCENARIO 1: AN EMPLOYEE REFUSES TO WEAR A MASK AND PRODUCES A DOCTOR’S NOTE CITING BREATHING DIFFICULTIES. MUST THE EMPLOYER ACCOMMODATE SUCH A REQUEST? Potentially. Since the request to not wear a mask is considered an accommodation under the ADA, the employer can still require a doctor’s note when considering the accommodation. Reprinted courtesy of Molly Gwin, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Ms. Gwin may be contacted at mgwin@isaacwiles.com

Separation of Insureds Provision in CGL Policies

August 31, 2020 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
CGL policies contain a “Separation of Insureds” provision. This provision oftentimes states:

As if each named insured were the only Named Insured; and
Separately to each insured against whom claim is made or “suit” is brought.

This provision is designed to “create separate insurable interests in each individual insured under a policy, such that the conduct of one insured will not necessarily exclude coverage for all other insured.” Evanson Ins. Co. v. Design Build Interamerican, Inc., 569 Fed.Appx. 739 (11th Cir. 2014). This provision also allows one insured under the policy (e.g., additional insured) to sue another (e.g., named insured) without violating potential coverage because there are separate insurable interests. This is a valuable provision in CGL policies. 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

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES