Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Intellectual Property And Employment Law Best Practices: Are You Covering Your Bases In Protecting Construction-Related Trade Secrets?

November 15, 2021 — Colin Holley - ConsensusDocs
There are four main types of intellectual property (IP) – patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. Many companies have IP rights of all four types. Very different steps are required to protect different types of IP. Your company should work with an experienced IP attorney to develop and continuously update a comprehensive IP protection plan. And for the reasons discussed below, it is important for your company’s IP protection plan to be closely coordinated with employment and contracting practices. Patents are rights that may be granted to protect uniquely-original and usable inventions for a prescribed period of years, the length of which depends on the patent type. To register a patent, an application must be filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which will decide whether the invention is patentable. A registration gives the owner the ability to prevent others from using or selling the invention without permission. Registered patents may be challenged in court on several grounds, but mounting a successful challenge is a very expensive proposition. A patent registration is thus a highly valued asset and is key to preventing others from using or copying your invention, unless you have a foolproof way to keep your invention secret and out of the hands of competitors. On the other hand, if it is possible to keep the invention secret for enough time to gain a commercial advantage over competitors and the enforceability of the patent is questionable, registering a patent may be a mistake because the invention must be publicly disclosed in excruciating detail, for all competitors to see. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Colin Holley, Watt, Tieder, Hoffar, & Fitzgerald, LLP
Mr. Holley may be contacted at cholley@watttieder.com

Construction Termination Issues Part 6: This is the End (Tips for The Design Professional)

September 25, 2023 — Melissa Dewey Brumback - Construction Law in North Carolina
Whether your role is in helping analyze the contractor’s work on the project to certify a contractor’s termination for cause, or you are being shown the door yourself, and everything in between, termination is a subject that is ripe with potential problems. Consider these summary tips as part of your practice, every time the termination idea arises:

Remember that you are the neutral and must be impartial between Owner and Contractor
After you have made a fair decision, document your decision to the Owner and Contractor
Provide options less nuclear for Owners– stop work; removing scopes of work; etc.

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Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale Liggett
Ms. Brumback may be contacted at mbrumback@rl-law.com

Construction Defect Case Not Over, Despite Summary Judgment

November 07, 2012 — CDJ STAFF
The Supreme Court of Oregon has concluded in an en banc decision that a motion to reconsider a summary judgment is not a motion for a new trial. In coming to their conclusion the court overturned an earlier Oregon Supreme Court case, Carter v. U.S. National Bank. Although the decision does not bear on construction defects, the underlying case did. Due to the decision, these claims can now be evaluated in a trial. The case, Association of Unit Owners of Timbercrest Condominiums v. Warren, came about after an apartment complex was converted into condominium units. The developers hired Big Al’s Construction for some of the remodeling work. The condominium association later sued the developer and the contractor over claims of construction defects. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, which the court granted. But that wasn’t the end of things. The plaintiff soon filed a “motion to reconsider,” noting that the summary judgment seemed to be in conflict with both law and other recent rulings, and additionally, the grounds for the decision were not in the order. The judge then notified the parties that the court had “pulled the trigger too quickly” and had seven questions for the parties to answer. The court dismissed all claims against the defendants. The defendants filed their responses, objecting that that “‘there is no such thing’ as a motion for reconsideration.” Further, while “the rules do allow for post-judgment review of pre-judgment rulings through a motion for a new trial,” the plaintiffs had not filed for a new trial. But did they need one? They did file an appeal. The judge in the case admitted that there was no such thing as a motion to reconsider, and felt bad about prematurely signing the judgment. The case was sent to the Court of Appeals to determine if the motion to reconsider was a request for a new trial. The Court of Appeals concurred. In reviewing the decision, the Oregon Supreme Court concluded that there were a maximum of three questions to address. Was the motion for reconsideration a motion for a new trial? If so, was the later notice of appeal premature? And if so, was the plaintiff required to file a new appeal? The court determined that the answer to the first question was no. Prior decisions pointed to the conclusion “that a motion for reconsideration of a summary judgment amounts to a motion for a new trial,” but here the court concluded that “our prior cases erred,” and turned to the summary judgment rule for clarification. The court noted that “the rule contemplates that summary judgment and trial are separate and distinct events.” With this conclusion, the Oregon Supreme Court remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for further proceedings. Read the court decision
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UCP Buys Citizen Homes

March 31, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
UCP, a home builder and land developer based in San Jose, California, has purchased “Charlotte-based Southeast regional home building venture Citizens Homes, whose chairman is well-known home building industry veteran Tony Mon, and whose president and chief operating officer is third-generation home builder Scott Thorson,” according to Big Builder. According to a UCP press statement, as quoted by Big Builder, “[t]he purchase price, estimated to be approximately $15 million, is based on the total assets of Citizens at the closing of the acquisition, less cash and cash equivalents, and less certain assumed trade payables. In addition, Citizens is eligible to receive earnout payments from UCP of up to $6 million in the aggregate based on performance over the next five years.” The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2014. Read the court decision
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The California Legislature Passes SB 496 Limiting Design Professional Defense and Indemnity Obligations

November 21, 2017 — Mark Himmelstein & Jenny Guzman – Newmeyer & Dillion LLP
Originally published by CDJ on June 15, 2017 Since 2008 when the California legislature limited subcontractor indemnity obligations, the design professional community has been shouting “what about us?” Well, the legislature finally responded and a new law that limits design professional’s defense and indemnity obligations to their percentage of fault goes into effect on January 1, 2018. THE NEW LAW – SB 496 SB 496 amends California Civil Code section 2782.8 and states that indemnity agreements must be limited to the negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct of the indemnitee (i.e. no more Type I indemnity with design professionals). The amendment also provides that “in no event shall the cost to defend charged to the design professional exceed the design professional’s proportionate percentage of fault”, with a limited opportunity for reallocation in the event another defendant is judgment proof. However, the duty to defend still remains and still arises at the time of the tender of the defense (both issues that were unsuccessfully targeted by the design professional lobbyists). Reprinted courtesy of Mark Himmelstein, Newmeyer & Dillion LLP and Jenny Guzman, Newmeyer & Dillion LLP Mr. Price may be contacted at mark.himmelstein@ndlf.com Ms. Zucker may be contacted at jenny.guzman@ndlf.com Read the court decision
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CLB Recommends Extensive Hawaii Contractor License Changes

January 27, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
In 2013, the Hawaii senate passed a resolution, which asked the Contractors License Board to assess “each of the contractor licensing classifications under chapter 444, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and chapter 77, Hawaii Administrative Rules, and prepare a report that evaluates each classification,” according to Anna Oshiro’s blog, Hawaii Construction Law. The “board completed its task” and “recommends wholesale changes to the scope of work to be performed by licensed contractors in the State of Hawaii.” The report has been filed with the Legislative Reference Bureau. Read the court decision
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Just Decided – New Jersey Supreme Court: Insurers Can Look To Extrinsic Evidence To Deny a Defense

September 05, 2022 — Randy J. Maniloff - White and Williams LLP
Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided Norman International, Inc. v. Admiral Insurance Company, No. 086155 (N.J. Aug. 11, 2022). At issue was coverage for a work-site injury and the interpretation of a policy exclusion for operations or activities performed by an insured in certain counties in New York. The case is significant in terms of addressing causation for purposes of the application of exclusions. But the more wide-reaching issue has nothing to do with the scope of the exclusion. The real story from Norman is the New Jersey high court’s pronouncement that an insurer, in certain circumstances, can use extrinsic evidence to deny a defense to its insured. New Jersey duty to defend law has been a jungle land and in need of more supreme court guidance. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Randy J. Maniloff, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Maniloff may be contacted at maniloffr@whiteandwilliams.com

Court Clarifies Sequence in California’s SB800

December 20, 2012 — CDJ STAFF
As California’s Right-To-Repair law, SB800, nears its ninth birthday, it has remained “largely untested in the legal system” as noted by Megan MacNee of Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman LLP on the site RealEstateRama. She writes that some homeowners have requested documents prior to filing a claim, which she describes as an attempt to “game the system,” and “analogous to requiring a party to litigation to comply with discovery before a complaint is filed.” The court determined that homeowners may not request documents from the builder until they have actually filed a claim. The court noted that SB800 lacks any clear indication that homeowners may request documents before filing a claim (and also does not indicate that a builder would have to provide documents in these circumstances). The court concluded that the section that sets up the prelitigation procedures occurs before they section on documents discovery. “Because the document request is part of the prelitigation procedure, and the prelitigation procedure does not begin until the homeowner has served notice of a claim, it follows that there can be no prelitigation obligation to produce documents under section 912, subdivision (a) unless the homeowner has commenced the prelitigation procedure by serving notice of a claim.” Read the court decision
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