Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Bill Introduced to give Colorado Shortest Statute of Repose in U.S.

January 21, 2015 — Jesse Howard Witt – Acerbic Witt
Yesterday, State Senator Ray Scott (R-Mesa County) introduced a bill to shorten Colorado’s already short statute of repose. If this bill passes, it will severely undermine the rights of Colorado homeowners. Colorado already has one of the shortest construction defect statutes of repose in the United States. If a homeowner does not discover a defect within six years of a house’s completion, the homeowner may forfeit all legal rights to seek repairs. Senator Ray’s bill would cut this time in half and could preclude homeowners from obtaining any relief three years after a home is built. No other state in America has such a severe limit on homeowner rights. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jesse Howard Witt, The Witt Law Firm
Mr. Witt welcomes comments at www.wittlawfirm.net

Not All Work is Covered Under the Federal Miller Act

May 24, 2021 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
The recent opinion out of the Eastern District Court of Virginia, Dickson v. Forney Enterprises, Inc., 2021 WL 1536574 (E.D.Virginia 2021), demonstrates that the federal Miller Act is not designed to protect ALL that perform work on a federal construction project. This is because NOT ALL work is covered under the Miller Act. In this case, a professional engineer was subcontracted by a prime contractor to serve on site in a project management / superintendent capacity. The prime contractor’s scope of work was completed by January 31, 2019. However, the prime contractor was still required to inventory certain materials on site, which was performed by the engineer. The engineer claimed it was owed in excess of $400,000 and filed a Miller Act payment bond lawsuit on February 5, 2020 (more than a year after the project was completed). 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

Home Improvement in U.S. Slowing or Still Intact -- Which Is It?

May 20, 2015 — Anna-Louise Jackson – Bloomberg
Two indexes that gauge U.S. home-remodeling activity suggest a slower pace ahead. Wall Street seems to disagree. Future market conditions measured by the National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Market Index fell to 55.4 in the three months ended March 31 from a record-high of 59.5 in the fourth quarter, data from the group showed Thursday. Similarly, a leading indicator of remodeling work created by Harvard University projects annual growth in home-improvement spending will slow to 2.9 percent by year end from a projected 6.5 percent in the first quarter. While these measures suggest sluggishness, investors don’t seem to mind. Following a “relatively weak year” for renovations in 2014, “people are warming up to housing again,” said Mike Wood, an analyst in New York at Macquarie Group Ltd. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anna-Louise Jackson, Bloomberg

California Court of Appeal Finds Coverage for Injured Worker Despite Contractor's Exclusion

August 05, 2024 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's finding that the policy covered a worker's injuries despite the Contractor's Exclusion. Cal. Spec. Insulation . Allied Work Surplus Lines, Ins. Co., 2024 Cal. App. LEXIS 317 (Cal. Ct. App. May 17, 2024). Air Control Systems, Inc. was retained by a property owner to perform improvement work on a building. Air Control retained California Specialty Insulation, Inc. (CSI) to install duct insulation. Jason Standiford, an Air Control employee, sure CSI, asserting negligence for injuries he suffered when he fell 16 to 20 feet after. A CSI employee drove a scissor lift into a ladder he was standing on. CSI was insured through a commercial general liability policy from Allied World. The policy included an endorsement titled "Bodily Injury to Any Employee or Temporary Worker of Contractors Exclusion." The Contractor Exclusion state the policy did not apply to "'Bodily injury' . . . to any 'employee' or 'ten,poary work' of any contractor or subcontractor arising out of in or the course of the rendering or performing services of any kind or nature by such contractor or subcontractor." Neither the endorsement nor the policy defined the term "contractor." 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

2019 Promotions - New Partners at Haight

January 15, 2019 — Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
Haight proudly announces the promotion of Renata Hoddinott, Sarah Marsey and Annette Mijianovic to Partner in January 2019. Renata and Sarah joined Haight’s San Francisco office in 2016. Renata relocated from a litigation firm in the Los Angeles area. She focuses her practice on professional liability, general liability, risk management & insurance law and transportation law. Before coming to Haight, Sarah was with a respected trial firm in Anchorage, Alaska. She handles a variety of complex matters in appellate law, food safety, construction law and general liability. Annette has been with Haight’s Los Angeles office for almost 12 years. Annette joined the firm as a summer clerk in 2007 and has continued to build her practice handling cases related to commercial litigation, products liability and transportation law. Reprinted courtesy of Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP attorneys Renata L. Hoddinott, Sarah A. Marsey and Annette F. Mijanovic Ms. Hoddinott may be contacted at rhoddinott@hbblaw.com Ms. Marsey may be contacted at smarsey@hbblaw.com Ms. Mijanovic may be contacted at amijanovic@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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Falls Requiring Time Off from Work are Increasing

January 14, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The Safety News Alert reported that while “overall occupational injuries that require time off from work” have decreased, other injuries, such as falls, have increased, according to findings from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) annual report. “The rate of falls on the same level increased to 15.4 in 2013 from 14.8 in 2012, with increases in construction, wholesale trade, and transportation and warehousing,” Safety News Alert wrote. Furthermore, “Incidence rates and counts for private sector heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers and food preparation workers increased in 2013.” Read the court decision
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Denial of Coverage For Bodily Injury After Policy Period Does Not Violate Public Policy

May 12, 2016 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The Rhode Island Supreme Court agreed that the insurer had no coverage obligations for bodily injury occurring after the policy had been canceled. Hoesen v. Lloyd's of London, 2016 R.I. LEXIS 41 (R.I. March 24, 2016). The plaintiff, Mark Van Hoesen, was seriously injured on July 23, 2012, when he fell from a deck of his house. He sued his contractor, Brian Leonard, alleging that the deck had been negligently constructed. Lloyd's, Leonard's insurer, was later named as a defendant. Lloyd's admitted it issued the policy to Leonard, but it was cancelled on August 29, 2007. Even if it had not been canceled, the policy had expired long before the injuries alleged in plaintiff's complaint occurred. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

General Contractor’s Excess Insurer Denied Equitable Contribution From Subcontractor’s Excess Insurer

December 15, 2016 — Christopher Kendrick & Valerie A. Moore – Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
In Advent v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., etc. (No. H041934 filed 12/6/16), a California appeals court refused to order a subcontractor’s excess insurer to contribute to a general contractor’s excess insurer because the general contractor did not qualify as an additional insured of the subcontractor’s insurer, and the policy wording made the subcontractor’s excess insurer second level excess above the general contractor’s own excess insurance. Advent was the general contractor on a housing development and Johnson was a sub-subcontractor providing concrete on perimeter walls. A Johnson employee dispatched to retrieve plywood dumped between some of the buildings somehow fell down an open stairwell inside one of the unfinished buildings and suffered serious injury. He sued Advent and others for negligence, but could not remember how he fell. Reprinted courtesy of Christopher Kendrick, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP and Valerie A. Moore, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP Mr. Kendrick may be contacted at ckendrick@hbblaw.com Ms. Moore may be contacted at vmoore@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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