Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Insurers Need only Prove that Other Coverage Exists for Construction Defect Claims

August 27, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Writing on the Sheppard Mullin web site, Scott Hennigh looks at the implications of the 2012 California case Axis Surplus Insurance. A condominium complex was covered by two insurance policies, covering different time periods. During a construction defect claim, one insurer argued that the claim was not covered. The other insurer settled and sued that both needed to contribute to the settlement. The court held that when multiple insurers are in conflict, the burden to prove that coverage does not exist lies solely on the party claiming it. Read the court decision
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Home-Sales Fall in 2014 Has U.S. Waiting for 2015: Economy

January 28, 2015 — Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- A three-year winning streak for sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. ended in 2014 as some investors stepped out of the market and first-time buyers failed to fill the void. Purchases totaled 4.93 million last year, down 3.1 percent from the 5.09 million houses sold in 2013, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed Friday in Washington. The share of American homebuyers making their first purchase dropped in 2014 to its lowest level in almost three decades, according to the Realtors group. At the same time, employment gains, growing consumer confidence, mortgage rates at historically low levels and government efforts to lower purchasing costs probably will help bolster demand in 2015. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bloomberg News

As Fracture Questions Remain, Team Raced to Save Mississippi River Bridge

September 06, 2021 — Jim Parsons - Engineering News-Record
"How is this bridge still standing?” That was the initial reaction of Aaron Stover, Michael Baker International’s vice president and regional bridge practice lead, as he first studied images of a fractured tie beam that forced the May 11 emergency shutdown of the I-40/Hernando de Soto Bridge between Tennessee and Arkansas. Discovered by chance earlier in the day during MBI’s routine above-deck inspection, the fracture on the bridge’s eastbound span affected nearly half the cross-section of a 26-in. by 33-in. welded girder supporting one of the 50-year-old structure’s 900-ft-long, 100-ft-high arched navigation spans across the Mississippi River. Reprinted courtesy of Jim Parsons, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Hawaii Building Codes to Stay in State Control

March 01, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

The Hawaii State Senate voted down Senate Bill 2692. Had it been passed, the State Building Code Council would have been abolished and building codes would have become the responsibility of county governments. The bill was opposed by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. Their director of code development, Wanda Edwards said that the bill “would have undermined key components that are essential to an effective state building code regime.”

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Chimney Collapses at South African Utility’s Unfinished $13 Billion Power Plant

November 21, 2022 — Paul Burkhardt - Bloomberg
South Africa’s newest coal-fired power plant, which has been under construction since 2008 and will cost an estimated 232 billion rand ($12.7 billion), shut one of its six generating units after a duct collapsed. The unit at the Kusile plant could remain offline “for a few months” although a clearer estimate will be known over coming weeks, state-owned utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. said in a statement late Wednesday. The outage comes as the country endures record blackouts -- locally known as loadshedding. The duct appeared to have sheared off from the unit’s main structure, a photo posted on Twitter by Anton Eberhard, a professor at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, showed. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Paul Burkhardt, Bloomberg

Limited Number of Insurance-Related Bills Passed by 2014 Hawaii Legislature

June 11, 2014 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
Very few insurance-related bills survived the 2014 Hawaii Legislative session, with several consumer-friendly bills failing to make it out of committee. Here is a summary of the bills that passed: SB2365: Limits reimbursement of prescription medications in order to prevent drug prices from becoming an unreasonable cost driver of health care in workers' compensation and motor vehicle insurance claims. SB2470: Appropriates general funds to provide for the sustainability of the Hawaii Health Connector, but provides for greater transparency, stakeholder engagement, and legislative involvement in the activities of the Hawaii Health Connector. 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

Woman Files Suit for Property Damages

January 15, 2014 — Melissa Zaya-CDJ STAFF
Debra Lovejoy filed suit on December 5th 2013 in Virginias Kanawha Circuit Court claiming that her home sustained damaged after a highway was built near her property, according to The West Virginia Record. The West Virginia Water Company, Carpenter Reclamation Inc., and the West Virginia Department of Transportation-Division of Highways were named in the suit. “Lovejoy claims Carpenter disturbed the contours of the surface, thereby weakening the support for the bank extending along the highway,” reports Kyla Asbury of The West Virginia Record. Asbury continues: “As a result, the bank has slipped significantly over time, according to the suit.” Lovejoy claims the bank needs to be repaired in order to prevent it from further slips, and is pursuing compensation. Read the court decision
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Can a Contractor be Liable to Second Buyers of Homes for Construction Defects?

November 05, 2014 — Craig Martin - Construction Contractor Advisor
Whether a contractor will be liable to a second purchaser, even though the contractor never contracted with the second purchaser, varies state to state. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in Conway v. The Cutler Group, is the latest court to rule that a subsequent purchaser lacks privity and cannot pursue an action against the builder. In that case, the Conways purchased a home from the original owner. After living in the home for about two years, the Conways discovered water leaking around the windows. The Conways sued the builder, alleging breach of the implied warranty of habitability. The builder defended the claim, asserting that it had not contracted with the Conways and thus had not provided any warranties to the Conways. The trial court agreed and dismissed the claim. The first level of appellate court reversed the trial court, holding that the warranty of habitability was intended to level the playing field between the builder and purchaser of a home and it should be extended to subsequent purchasers. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court disagreed and refused to extend any warranties to subsequent purchasers. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Craig Martin, Lamson, Dugan and Murray, LLP
Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@ldmlaw.com

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