Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

TV Kitchen Remodelers Sued for Shoddy Work

December 04, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Their remodels may dazzle on television, but someone who hired Bunelleschi Construction, the company owned by “Kitchen Cousins” stars John Colaneri and Anthony Carrino, wasn’t quite so dazzled. And now Robert and Peng Avery are suing the two men and their company for a kitchen remodel gone awry. They claim that the company left their Tenafly, New Jersey home uninhabitable. According to the couple, the Brunelleschi’s work included “numerous gaps in sheetrock” and improper installation of ductwork, plumbing, and doors. They also claim that Brunelleschi Construction falsely claimed the work had passed final building and electrical inspections. When the company stopped work, the couple was unable to obtain a certificate of occupancy. Read the court decision
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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (9/4/24) – DOJ Sues RealPage, Housing Sales Increase and U.S. Can’t Build Homes Fast Enough

October 07, 2024 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, environmental regulations tighten for commercial properties, Wells Fargo sells most of its commercial mortgage services business, first-time home buyers struggle with housing affordability, and more!

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it is suing the real estate company RealPage, saying it engaged in a price-fixing scheme to drive up rents. (Jennifer Ludden, NPR)
As environmental regulations for commercial buildings and properties tighten across the U.S., green leases and technologies offer owners and operators opportunities to reduce their portfolios’ carbon footprints, generate cost savings and further align with ESG goals. (Nish Amarnath, Construction Dive)
Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to sell most of its commercial mortgage servicing business to Trimont LLC, ceding the title of biggest US commercial and multifamily mortgage servicer to the Atlanta-based firm. (Hannah Levitt and Scott Carpenter, Yahoo)

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

Is the Event You Are Claiming as Unforeseeable Delay Really Unforeseeable?

September 26, 2022 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Is the item or event you are claiming as an unforeseeable, excusable delay really unforeseeable? This is not a trick question. Just because your construction contract identifies items or events that constitute unforeseeable, excusable delay does not mean those items can be used as a blanket excuse or crutch for the contractor. That would be unfair. For instance, it is not uncommon for a construction contract to list as unforeseeable, excusable delay the following events or items: “(i) acts of God or of the public enemy, (ii) act of the Government in either its sovereign or contractual capacity, (iii) acts of another Contractor in the performance of a contract with the Government, (iv) fires, (v) floods, (vi) epidemics, (vii) quarantine restrictions, (viii) strikes, (ix) freight embargoes, (x) unusually severe weather, or (xi) delays of subcontractors or suppliers at any tier arising from unforeseeable causes beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of both the Contractor and the subcontractors or suppliers.” See, e.g., F.A.R. 52.249-10(b)(1). While the itemization of excusable delay may be worded differently, the point is there may be a listing as to what items or events constitute excusable delay. An excusable delay would justify additional time and, potentially, compensation to the contractor. 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

Wood Product Rotting in New Energy Efficient Homes

January 13, 2014 — Melissa Zaya-CDJ STAFF
Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation may be filing a suit against TimberSIL, a wood manufacturer, as reported by WRAL. The foundation built 100 new homes in the 9th Ward of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and used the TimberSIL wood in 30 of the homes for decks and stairs. Make It Right spokeswoman Taylor Royle told Richard Thompson of WRAL that they chose TimberSIL because of the absence of chemicals, which will allow the wood to be mulched and composted after it has served its purpose. However, Royle claimed that the wood has begun to rot “despite being guaranteed for 40 years,” according to WRAL. She further alleged that the manufacturer failed to respond to any of the foundation’s attempts to discuss reimbursement of their costs under the forty year product warranty. Read the court decision
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How To Lock Disputes Out Of Your Project In Construction

July 22, 2019 — Anastasios Koutsogiannis – LetsBuild
Disputes are seen as one of the main threats for the successful completion of a project in construction. There is a plethora of factors which could lead to a construction dispute (e.g. contracts, behavior, environment) but, strangely enough, the industry seems to invest more attention on the resolution of a conflict instead of its prevention. Thanks to the progress that digital technologies have witnessed during the last few years, there is a good chance that things in construction will change for the better soon. The ability to exchange crucial updates in real time, while keeping a detailed record of everything that happens on the field adds an extra level of protection to your project and ensures that all agents are on the same page. In an effort to shed some light on the issue of construction disputes, we present below four tips that could help your team to lock conflicts out of your project: 1. Standardize your processes Before you kickstart your project, it is of paramount importance that you standardize all your systems and processes. In that way, you will be able to add extra clarity to your workflow and eliminate misunderstandings. Once you have achieved that, you can replicate the same process to your future projects. The more you manage to repeat the same project structure the better your team will become in completing their tasks without ending up in any kind of conflict. In that sense, standardization could be a long-term investment for your organization. 2. Go digital As soon as your processes are defined, it is time for the digital journey to begin. Finding the right tool for your project will result in a streamlined construction process where all the members of the team are on the same page without any room for costly mistakes or disagreements. Furthermore, with the help of digital solutions it becomes easier for project managers to measure the performance on site and monitor the completion of the set benchmarks. Like that, all payments will be on time and the program of the project will reflect reality. 3. Be extra careful with the contracts A poorly-written contract can have a big impact on the effort to lock disputes out of your construction project. While putting together a new contract, you should always make sure that you have taken into account all the different scenarios for your project. Either that is a delay due to weather conditions or an accident on site everything should be described in detail in the contracts and be well understood by those in charge. In any other case, things can get a bit risky and a costly dispute might wait to happen. 4. Hold regular meetings with all stakeholders Last but certainly not least, meet regularly with all project stakeholders. The frequent contact with the different members of your team will allow you to discuss and resolve any problematic situations before they grow out of proportion. What is more, regular meetings will help both your field teams and the people in the office to remain aligned and will eliminate the possibility of having people working on outdated versions of the program. Of course, these meetings don’t need to be time-consuming or even in person. With the help of technology, you can keep these meetings short and to the point. In that manner, everybody involved will be able to get the most out of them. Final word All in all, it becomes clear that locking disputes out of your project in construction requires continuous work and a carefully-elaborated plan. Thankfully, the emergence and progress of digital solutions have made this process much easier contributing significantly to the development of the industry far from disputes and project misunderstandings. About the author: Anastasios Koutsogiannis is Content Marketing Manager at LetsBuild. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Anastasios Koutsogiannis, LetsBuild

Tender the Defense of a Lawsuit to your Liability Carrier

January 19, 2017 — David Adelstein – Florida Construction Legal Updates
Sometimes you come across a head scratcher. This would be a decision that does not seem to make a whole lot of sense. For instance, if you are sued and you maintain liability insurance that would potentially provide you a defense and indemnification, not notifying your insurance carrier is a head scratcher. You pay substantial dollars towards the premium of that policy. So, not then notifying your carrier about a lawsuit is a head scratcher, and I mean a head scratcher!! If you are sued, not only should the carrier be notified, but the defense of that lawsuit should be tendered to your liability carrier. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Florida Construction Legal Updates
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dadelstein@gmail.com

Hovnanian Reports “A Year of Solid Profitability”

December 30, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Hovnanian Enterprises has released its results for its fourth quarter and the twelve months ending in October 2013, which are described by Ara K. Havnanian, the company’s Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer as “a year of solid profitability,” which he attributes to “revenue growth, gross margin improvement and operating efficiencies,” as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The company’s total revenues for 2013 were $1.85 billion, a 24.2% increase over the 2012 totals. Home sales totaled 5,930, a 10.7% increase over the prior year. Mr. Hovnanian expects “increased demand for new homes,” and he believes that “our industry is still in the early stages of a housing recovery.” Read the court decision
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Towards Paperless Construction: PaperLight

June 02, 2016 — Aarni Heiskanen – AEC Business
I just toured the newly built headquarters of a financial corporation. Our guide, a M&A specialist, boasted that they have completely removed paper from their offices. Could paperless construction become feasible any time soon? PaperLight is a portable smart board that could replace paper drawings on many occasions. Rollout, Inc., the developer of PaperLight, says that 90% of contractors still use paper plans. AEC firms spend, on average, $1600 per employee on printing annually. Over 37 million construction drawings are printed every year. Finding a usable solution that reduces these numbers makes economic sense. Even more so if you consider all the costs of errors that result from using outdated paper drawings. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aarni@aepartners.fi

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES