Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Temecula Office Secures Approval for Development of 972-Acre Community on Behalf of Pulte Homes

December 27, 2021 — Lewis Brisbois
Temecula, Calif. (December 7, 2021) – Temecula Partners Kelly Black and Samuel Alhadeff, along with Associate Mark Mercer, recently represented Pulte Homes in securing unanimous approval from the Murrieta City Council and the Murrieta Planning Commission for a large-scale 972-acre development known as the Murrieta Hills development. As described by local media including The Press-Enterprise, Menifee 24/7, and the Murrieta Patch, the Murrieta Hills development will be located just south of Menifee and east of Wildomar. It will include 750 homes – 522 single-family units and 228 multi-family dwellings. The project will also include an 18-acre commercial center with plans for shopping, dining, lodging, and office space. In addition, 619 of the 972 acres will be dedicated as natural open space and will be overseen by the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority. The project will be built in three phases, with the first phase scheduled to be completed by 2023 and the final phase to be completed in 2031. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

Beyond the Statute: How the Colorado Court Upheld Modified Accrual in Construction Contracts

November 13, 2023 — Hal Baker - Colorado Construction Litigation Blog
In a case of first impression, the First Division of the Colorado Court of Appeals recently reviewed whether parties may contractually alter the accrual time established by Colorado’s statute of limitations for construction defect actions, C.R.S. § 13-80-104, in South Conejos Sch. Dist. RE-10 v. Wold Architects, Inc., 2023 COA 85 (2023), decided on September 21, 2023. The Court held that sophisticated parties may contractually alter the accrual time standards, enlarging the accrual time as was the issue in this case. Notably, the Court’s decision was made in the context of commercial construction, not residential. The issue in South Conejos Sch. Dist. RE-10 arose from the construction of a school in Antonito, Colorado. Prior to construction, the South Conejos School District RE-10 (the “School District”) and Wold Architects, Inc. (“Wold”) entered a contract that provided: Unless a longer period is provided by law, any action against [Wold] brought to recover damages for deficiency in the design, planning, supervision, inspection, construction or observation of construction or for injury to person or property shall be brought within two years after the claim for relief arises and is discovered by [the District]; … “Discovered” as used herein means detection and knowledge by [the District] of the defect in the improvement that ultimately causes the injury, when such defect is of a substantial or significant nature. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Hal Baker, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
Mr. Baker may be contacted at baker@hhmrlaw.com

The Final Frontier Opens Up New Business Opportunities for Private Contractors

August 26, 2024 — Jessica S. Allain - ConsensusDocs
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Defense (“DOD”) issued its Commercial Space Integration Strategy. While arguably still in the early stages of implementation, this policy shows a significant shift in creating new opportunities for contractors to work with and sell commercial solutions to DOD. This creates big opportunities for the construction industry. DOD’s current construction budget is over $2.9 billion,[1] and seeking to increase funding and projects with the private sector also increases the need for construction of facilities to house those partnerships. For contractors who may be able to take advantage of these opportunities and the facilities that support them, it is worth having an understanding of what a prospective contractor would need to do to participate and what pitfalls may be attached to these programs. In an effort to call out the elephant in the room, the timing of these policies coming out in the year before an election should not be ignored. While grounded in the 2022 National Defense Strategy and other established departmental policies, a change in administration could create change in how these prospective opportunities are handled. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jessica S. Allain, Jones Walker
Ms. Allain may be contacted at jallain@joneswalker.com

Massive Fire Destroys Building, Firefighters Rescue Construction Worker

March 26, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
A “5-alarm fire burned down a residential building under construction in the Montrose area” of Houston, Texas, reported Click 2 Houston. Almost 200 emergency personnel were on the scene. Captain Ruy Lozano told Click 2 Houston that “firefighters worked to contain the blaze, before the imminent collapse because the fire suppression systems were not yet in place for the under-construction building.” ABC News reported that fire fighters rescued Curtis Reissig, a construction worker from the fire. “It’s burning my eyes, my throat. I can’t breathe and I can’t hardly see anything,” Reissig told ABC News. “I could see a window. I went to that window. Trying to open that window in a panic. I couldn’t get the thing open. Smoke was getting heavier, just trying to get some air.” ABC News reported that Reissig jumped down from a fifth story balcony to a ledge below, where “firefighters pulled him to safety.” Read the full story at Click 2 Houston... Read the full story at ABC News... Read the court decision
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Former NYC Condo Empire Executive Arrested for Larceny, Tax Fraud

March 11, 2024 — Ava Benny-Morrison - Bloomberg
A former New York executive facing lawsuits over the collapse of real estate empire HFZ Capital Group has been arrested in Miami, charged with grand larceny and tax fraud. Nir Meir, 48, was arrested Monday, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police Department confirmed. Meir was detained on an out-of-state warrant, suggesting his arrest may be the result of an investigation by law enforcement in New York. A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Meir’s attorney also didn’t immediately respond to an email. Meir, the former managing principal of HFZ Capital Group, has been battling multiple lawsuits in New York over his involvement in the once-prominent real estate firm. He’s denied wrongdoing. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ava Benny-Morrison, Bloomberg

Angela Cooner Receives Prestigious ASA State Advocate Award

April 12, 2021 — Angela Cooner - Lewis Brisbois
Phoenix Partner Angela L. Cooner recently received the American Subcontractors Association, Inc. (ASA) 2020 State Advocate award during ASA’s Virtual Awards Presentation, which took place on February 25. ASA selected Ms. Cooner as the recipient of this honor based upon the significant time that she spent and value she added to subcontractor advocacy in Arizona over the last year. In nominating Ms. Cooner for this award, ASA of Arizona stated, “Angie’s dedication and track record are second to none. However, it is her leadership in managing the recent merger between the Arizona State Contractors’ Coalition (AZSCC) and Arizonans for Fair Contracting (AFC) where she has distinguished herself most notably.” Moreover, ASA explained that Ms. Cooner’s dedication “has allowed ASA of Arizona to renegotiate a new contract with a government affairs firm that helped secure victory on a critical proportional liability bill and begin the upcoming legislative session on the right foot.” According to ASA, Ms. Cooner has donated the equivalent of $120,000 in billable hours to the organization through her work for AFC and as legal counsel for ASA of Arizona’s Board of Directors. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Angela Cooner, Lewis Brisbois
Ms. Cooner may be contacted at Angela.Cooner@lewisbrisbois.com

Turning Back the Clock: DOL Proposes Previous Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Definition

April 19, 2022 — David Chidlaw & Carina Novell - Sheppard Mullin Construction & Infrastructure Law Blog
On March 11, 2022, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) proposed reverting the definition of “prevailing wage” under the Davis-Bacon Act to a definition used over 40 years ago. According to the DOL, the proposal is meant to modernize the law and “reflect better the needs of workers in the construction industry and planned federal construction investments.”[1] Brief History Lesson The Davis-Bacon Act was enacted in 1931 and requires the payment of locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits on federal construction contracts. The law applies to workers on contracts in excess of $2,000 entered into by federal agencies and the District of Columbia for the construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or public works.[2] From the 1930s to the early 1980s, the DOL used the following three-step process to define prevailing wage:

Any wage rate paid to a majority of workers.
If there was no wage rate paid to a majority of workers, then the wage rate paid to the greatest number of workers, provided it was paid to at least 30 percent of workers (i.e., the “30 percent rule”).
If the 30 percent rule was not met, the weighted average rate.

Reprinted courtesy of David Chidlaw, Sheppard Mullin and Carina Novell, Sheppard Mullin Mr. Chidlaw may be contacted at dchidlaw@sheppardmullin.com Ms. Novell may be contacted at cnovell@sheppardmullin.com Read the court decision
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COVID-19 Business Interruption Lawsuits Begin: Iconic Oceana Grill in New Orleans Files Insurance Coverage Lawsuit

April 20, 2020 — Jeffrey J. Vita & William S. Bennett - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
On Monday, the iconic New Orleans restaurant, Oceana Grill, filed the first Coronavirus-related business interruption insurance coverage lawsuit in a US jurisdiction. The declaratory judgment action styled Cajun Conti, LLC, et. al. d/b/a Oceana Grill v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London was filed in Louisiana state court for the Parish of Orleans. As a direct result of the government-mandated closures and restrictions on public gatherings implemented by the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana, Oceana Grill’s petition anticipates a significant loss of business income. Based on allegations in the petition, there are several aspects of Oceana Grill’s policy that make this a good test case for business interruption coverage stemming from the Coronavirus. Although the specific policy language is not quoted in the petition, coverage provisions are categorically identified throughout. As a preliminary matter, the policy at issue appears to be written on an “all risks” basis, meaning the insuring agreement of the policy would likely be triggered generally by all risks of “physical loss or damage” unless specifically excluded. This basis for coverage, which is common in property policies, is advantageous to policyholders, as it limits the insured’s burden of proof to establishing that there was physical loss or damage while leaving the burden of applying any more specific exclusion to the insurance company. Reprinted courtesy of Jeffrey J. Vita, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. and William S. Bennett, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. Mr. Vita may be contacted at jjv@sdvlaw.com Mr. Bennett may be contacted at wsb@sdvlaw.com Read the court decision
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