Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Washington State Safety Officials Cite Contractor After Worker's Fatal Fall

October 09, 2023 — James Leggate - Engineering News-Record
Inspectors with the Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries found that flipper deck platforms were not used in line with the manufacturer’s specifications on a jobsite where a worker was killed in a fall earlier this year. Officials cited a contractor, SAK Builders Inc., for $16,800 in penalties over three alleged serious violations. Reprinted courtesy of James Leggate, Engineering News-Record Mr. Leggate may be contacted at leggatej@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Do Not File a Miller Act Payment Bond Lawsuit After the One-Year Statute of Limitations

November 01, 2022 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Under the Miller Act, a claim against a Miller Act payment bond must be commenced “no later than one year after the date on which the last of the labor was performed or material was supplied by the person bringing the action.” 40 U.S.C. s. 3133(b)(4). Stated another way, a claimant must file its lawsuit against the Miller Act payment bond within one year from its final furnishing on the project. Filing a lawsuit too late, i.e., outside of the one-year statute of limitations, will be fatal to a Miller Act payment bond claim. This was the outcome in Diamond Services Corp. v. Travelers Casualty & Surety Company of America, 2022 WL 4990416 (5th Cir. 2022) where a claimant filed a Miller Act payment bond lawsuit four days late. That four days proved to be fatal to its Miller Act payment bond claim and lawsuit. Do not let this happen to you! In Diamond Services Corp., the claimant submitted a claim to the Miller Act payment bond surety. The surety issued a claim form to the claimant that requested additional information. The claimant returned the surety’s claim form. The surety denied the claim a year and a couple of days after the claimant’s final furnishing. The claimant immediately filed its payment bond lawsuit four days after the year expired. The claimant argued that the surety should be equitably estopped from asserting the statute of limitations in light of the surety’s letter requesting additional information. (The claimant was basically arguing that the statute of limitations should be equitably tolled.) The trial court dismissed the Miller Act payment bond claim finding it was barred by the one-year statute of limitations and that equitable estoppel did not apply. 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

Balancing Cybersecurity Threats in Smart Cities: Is the Potential Convenience of “Smart” Intersections Worth the Risk?

September 02, 2024 — James P. Bobotek & Brian E. Finch - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
The term “smart cities” has become popular parlance for municipalities’ attempts to enhance delivery of urban services and infrastructure through information and communications technology. While they may conjure images of neon-lit high rises or streetscapes populated by sleek, hovering vehicles, a bit like the 1960s-era The Jetsons cartoon envisioned our high-tech future, the reality of smart cities has begun to emerge in more subtle, less glamourous forms. Cities tend to focus on wastewater monitoring, traffic control and energy distribution technologies in their efforts to become incrementally “smarter.” Smart cities lean heavily on automation, internet connectivity and the Internet of Things (IoT)—including smartphones, connected cars and a host of web-based appliances and utilities—to boost the delivery and quality of essential urban services and infrastructure like transit, sanitation, water, energy, emergency response and more. Successful smart cities need infrastructure that supports such connectivity, and they pull data from hundreds, or even thousands, of sensors that can be used to analyze and shepherd the direction of resources. Reprinted courtesy of James P. Bobotek, Pillsbury and Brian E. Finch, Pillsbury Mr. Bobotek may be contacted at james.bobotek@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Finch may be contacted at brian.finch@pillsburylaw.com Read the court decision
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Boston Developer Sues Contractor Alleging Delays That Cost Millions

November 01, 2021 — James Leggate - Engineering News-Record
A Miami developer is suing the general contractor it hired to build a 22-story mixed-use tower in Boston’s trendy Seaport District, alleging construction delays cost it $4.9 million in lost revenue. Reprinted courtesy of James Leggate, Engineering News-Record Mr. Leggate may be contacted at leggatej@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Top 10 Take-Aways: the ABA Forum's 2024 Mid-Winter Meeting

February 26, 2024 — Marissa L. Downs - The Dispute Resolver
The Forum on Construction Law convened last week at Caesars Palace in sunny Las Vegas for its 2024 Mid-Winter Meeting. Carrie Okizaki and David Suchar (along with John Cook, Karen Erger, and countless others) put together a truly outstanding program on power projects. Here are my top 10 take-aways from this unique and insightful event: 10. The demand for power projects is steadily increasing. The increasing demand for power construction projects is being driven chiefly by the need to replace aging infrastructure as well as the desire to develop cleaner and more sustainable generation facilities. The constant demand for more and more electricity is not that surprising but, according to Jeff Richardson (Energy Solutions) and Eric S. Gould (Modus Strategic Solutions), the pipeline market size for power-generation projects in 2028 is expected to reach $10.6 trillion, i.e., double what it was just in 2022. 9. "Net Zero" is the new normal. In December 2021, President Biden issued an executive order proclaiming that, by 2050, the federal government will be a Net-Zero contributor to the climate crisis. To achieve this goal, the greenhouse gasses ("GHGs") released by government operations must be less than (or equal to) the GHGs absorbed/removed from the environment. Other government bodies and private companies alike are adopting similar Net-Zero goals. Because not all of these promises are created equal, Moody’s Investors Services has a tool to help consumers compare and evaluate companies' carbon transition plans. According to panelists, Amanda Schermer MacVey (Venable), Brendan Hennessey (Pillsbury), and Laszlo von Lazar (Black & Veatch), these Net-Zero commitments are likely to result in more rigorous supplier codes of conduct and heightened carbon tracing efforts on construction projects. 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

California Appeals Court Says Loss of Use Is “Property Damage” Under Liability Policy, and Damages Can be Measured by Diminished Value

December 11, 2018 — Michael S. Levine & David M. Costello - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
In a win for policyholders, a California appellate court has held that the loss of use of property resulting from alleged negligence constitutes property damage under a liability insurance policy. In Thee Sombrero, Inc. v. Scottsdale Insurance Company, the property owner, Thee Sombrero, operated a venue as a nightclub. After a shooting inside the nightclub caused a patron’s death, the local government revoked Sombrero’s right to use the property as a nightclub and, instead, limited permissible use of the property to a banquet hall. Sombrero sued the security company it had hired to keep guns out of the club, alleging that it was the security company’s negligence that caused the city to revoke Sombrero’s nightclub use permit and that the loss of use of the facility as a nightclub resulted in damages of almost a million dollars based on an assessment of the property’s diminished market value. The security company did not contest the claim, and Sombrero obtained a default judgment. Reprinted courtesy of Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth and David M. Costello, Hunton Andrews Kurth Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com Mr. Costello may be contacted at dcostello@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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New Defendant Added to Morrison Bridge Decking Lawsuit

March 26, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The Morrison Bridge in Multnomah County, Oregon, has added a new company to their lawsuit regarding problems with the slip-resistant FRP decking, according to The Oregonian. The county has already named the installer, the supplier, and the manufacturer. Now, they have added Hardesty & Hanover, LLP, the company “that contracted with the decking manufacturer to provide engineering and design for the project.” The Oregonian reported that “the county has identified a construction design professional who can testify that Hardesty & Hanover made errors that contributed to the Morrison Bridge's damage,” according to the amended complaint. First, Conway construction (the deck installer) filed suit against the decking manufacturer and supplier. Then, the “county inserted itself into the suit last fall,” stated The Oregonian, and “is seeking more than $2 million to repair or replace the decking, plus damages.” A trial is scheduled for February 2015. Read the court decision
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Panel Declares Colorado Construction Defect Laws Reason for Lack of Multifamily Developments

January 22, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Dennis Huspeni writing for the Denver Business Journal provided reactions from panelists at a ULI Colorado event on January 9th at the Embassy Suites Denver – Downtown/Convention Center hotel regarding a report on “Emerging Trends in Real Estate.” According to Huspeni’s article, panelists discussed “the lack of for-sale multifamily development and attributed it to Colorado’s construction defect laws.” John Beeble, chairman and CEO of Saunders Construction, one of the panelists, said that Saunders does not build condos because of Denver’s construction defect laws: “We’ve been in business for 42 years and never been sued for construction defects,” Beeble said, according to the Denver Business Journal. “But the odds are close to 100 percent that we’d be in court defending ourselves if we did condos.” Jeff Hawks, principal at ARA Colorado, claimed, “Colorado has some of the worst construction defect laws in the country. It’s stupid to try and build a condo development until that changes,” as reported by the Denver Business Journal. Read the court decision
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