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DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

A New AAA Study Confirms that Arbitration is Faster to Resolution Than Court – And the Difference Can be Assessed Monetarily

June 05, 2017 — John P. Ahlers - Ahlers & Cressman PLLC
There has been a perception among some litigators that arbitration is more expensive than court due to several factors. Among them:

• The “upfront” costs are higher in that filing fees for arbitration exceed those in court. Arbitrators are paid, whether hourly or a flat rate, and the three arbitration panels can become very expensive.
• Some arbitration clauses preserve statutory discovery rights, basically defeating the advantage of a simplified arbitration process. Discovery wars are extremely expensive. Depositions are the most costly of discovery, and in arbitration, as opposed to court, depositions are limited or do not exist.
• Some arbitration clauses integrate the statutory rules of civil procedure, making arbitration almost equivalent to litigation. These types of clauses do the parties no favors.

These notions are all dispelled in a recent American Arbitration Association (AAA) study comparing the length of time in court, based on published federal court statistics, to the length of time in arbitration, based on data from the AAA. The study demonstrates that federal courts take much longer to resolve cases by trial and appeal than arbitration by AAA. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of John P. Ahlers, Ahlers & Cressman PLLC
Mr. Ahlers may be contacted at jahlers@ac-lawyers.com

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What You Need to Know About the Recently Enacted Infrastructure Bill

December 06, 2021 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
This past week, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The bill, commonly referred to as the Infrastructure Bill, provides for $1.2 trillion in spending over the next five years on the nation’s infrastructure and is one of two major legislative initiatives of the Biden Administration, the other being Biden’s $1.75 billion Build Back Better Bill focused on “soft” assets such money to fight climate change, for universal free preschool, for paid family and medical leave, etc. While the Infrastructure Bill contains its fair share of pet projects, economists and historians generally agree that the Infrastructure Bill is the largest investment in the nation’s infrastructure since President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” in 1933. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

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Prejudice to Insurer After Late Notice of Hurricane Damage Raises Issue of Fact

January 03, 2022 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court denied the insurer's motion for summary judgment on admittedly late notice because prejudice to the insured remained an issue of fact. Guzman v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 219625 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 15, 2021). The insured first noticed water leaking into his kitchen from the roof during Hurricane Irma on September 10, 2017. Various attempts were made by the insured to fix the leak, but none were successful. After the hurricane, the roof continued to leak whenever it rained. Notice was finally given to Scottsdale, the insurer, on April 19, 2020. Scottsdale retained structural engineer Nazario Ramirez, who inspected the property twice. He also had photographs of the rapids. Ramirez denied being prejudiced during his inspections. Based on the pictures aerial photography and weather research, he determined that the damage was caused by underlayment failing, which could have resulted from age and deterioration or poor construction. When Scottsdale's corporate representative was deposed, he testified that Ramirez was able to determine the cause of the damage to the roof. 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

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Newmeyer & Dillion Attorneys Selected to the 2016 Southern California Super Lawyers Lists

June 09, 2016 — Newmeyer & Dillion LLP
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – JUNE 6, 2016 – Prominent business and real estate law firm Newmeyer & Dillion LLP is pleased to announce that three of the firm’s attorneys, Jennifer L. Ferrentino, Robyn E. Frick and Michael B. McClellan were selected to the Southern California Super Lawyers 2016 Rising Stars list for business litigation. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by Super Lawyers to receive this honor. The attorneys will be recognized in the July 2016 issues of Super Lawyers Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine and Orange Coast magazine. In addition, twelve of the firm’s Newport Beach attorneys were selected to the 2016 Southern California Super Lawyers list, an honor given to no more than five percent of the lawyers in California. Michael S. Cucchissi, Real Estate Mark S. Himmelstein, Construction Litigation Jane M. Samson, Real Estate Jeffrey M. Dennis, Construction Litigation Charles S. Krolikowski, Eminent Domain Robert K. Scott, Insurance Coverage Gregory L. Dillion, Business Litigation Thomas F. Newmeyer, Business Litigation Michael J. Studenka, Employee Litigation: Defense Joseph A. Ferrentino, Construction Litigation John A. O'Hara, Construction Litigation Carol S. Zaist, Business Litigation Making the list since it was originally published in 2004 is co-founding litigation partner Greg Dillion who was again selected to the Top 50: 2016 Orange County Super Lawyers List. In addition, Jennifer L. Ferrentino, Robyn E. Frick, Jane M. Samson and Carol S. Zaist were listed in the 2016 Top Women Attorneys in Southern California by Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The patented selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. The Rising Stars list is developed using the same selection process except a candidate must be either 40 years old and younger or in practice for 10 years or less. About Newmeyer & Dillion For more than 30 years, Newmeyer & Dillion has delivered creative and outstanding legal solutions and trial results for a wide array of clients. With over 70 attorneys practicing in all aspects of business, employment, real estate, construction and insurance law, Newmeyer & Dillion delivers legal services tailored to meet each client’s needs. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with offices in Walnut Creek, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, Newmeyer & Dillion attorneys are recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©, and Super Lawyers as top tier and some of the best lawyers in California, and have been given Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review's AV Preeminent® highest rating. For additional information, call 949-854-7000 or visit www.ndlf.com. Read the court decision
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2011 Worst Year Ever for Home Sales

September 09, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

So few new single-family homes have sold in 2011 that expectations are that this will be the worst year for new homes sales since the Commerce Department started tracking this in 1963. The Harford Courant notes that previously builders created a new supply to which was added homes under foreclosure.

Ed Leamer, economist and director of UCLA’s Anderson Forecast, says that recovery would be driven by two sectors, manufacturing and construction. “It doesn’t look like there is going to be a big recovery in manufacturing,” he says. “It is going to have to come in housing.”

The soft housing market, however, is leading to a loss of construction jobs, as reported by the Associated General Contractors of America. As a result, stock prices for the twelve largest publicly-traded home builders have declined 22.7 percent in a market that has declined 4.2 percent overall.

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Lucky No. 7: Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Issues Pro-Policyholder Decision Regarding Additional Insured Coverage for Upstream Parties

November 02, 2020 — Daniela Aguila - Saxe Doernberger & Vita
In Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. Columbia Ins. Group, Inc,1 the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a subcontractor’s insurer was obligated to defend and indemnify the project owner’s insurer for damages associated with the subcontractor's employee's personal injury lawsuit where the underlying complaint alleged negligence by the additional insureds. The case cements the notion that under Illinois law, one can significantly benefit from the facts presented in third party complaints as a basis for additional insured coverage. Rockwell Properties (“Rockwell”) was the project owner, along with Prairie Management & Development (“Prairie”), the general contractor, on a construction project in Chicago. Prairie subcontracted HVAC services to TDH Mechanical (“TDH”). When an employee of TDH Mechanical sustained serious injuries performing work at a construction site, a suit was lodged against Rockwell and Prairie in state court. The lawsuit did not bring any claims against TDH but instead alleged that both Rockwell and Prairie had negligently failed to supervise the subcontractors’ work on-site, thus contributing to the worker’s injuries. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Daniela Aguila, Saxe Doernberger & Vita
Ms. Aguila may be contacted at dag@sdvlaw.com

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A Lien Might Just Save Your Small Construction Business

April 04, 2011 — Douglas Reiser, Builders Council Blog

Many owners incorrectly believe that payment to the general contractor gets the owner off the hook for payment to subcontractors and suppliers. This assumption sometimes fosters the irresponsible owner, who fails to ensure that everyone is getting paid. Fortunately for those contractors further down the contracting chain, this assumption is incorrect.



Suppliers and subcontractors can file a lien to secure payment for their labor and materials. A filing party must offer proper notice (if applicable) and file an adequate and timely lien in the County where the work is performed. You can read our earlier posts on these topics by following this link.



A lien notice and a lien put an owner on notice that your business has provided labor and/or materials for the improvement of the owner’s property (See RCW 60.04.031 for more info). If the owner fails to take care to ensure that your business is paid the law mandates that the owner may have to pay twice.



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

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Sept. 11 Victims Rejected by U.S. High Court on Lawsuit

July 01, 2014 — Greg Stohr – Bloomberg
The U.S. Supreme Court turned away an appeal by thousands of Sept. 11 attack victims who sought to sue Middle Eastern companies and people for allegedly providing crucial support to al-Qaeda. The victims sought to revive their claims against relatives of Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned National Commercial Bank and Saudi Binladen Group, a construction company controlled by the former al-Qaeda leader’s family. A federal appeals court threw out those claims in 2013, saying the victims didn’t allege a close enough connection between the defendants’ activities and the attacks. The appellate panel also said some defendants lacked sufficient ties to the U.S. to bring them within the jurisdiction of American courts. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Greg Stohr, Bloomberg
Mr. Stohr may be contacted at gstohr@bloomberg.net

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