Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Traub Lieberman Recognized in 2022 U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms”

November 15, 2021 — Traub Lieberman
Traub Lieberman has been listed in the 2022 U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms”. The firm has been named as Metropolitan Tier 2 in St. Petersburg, FL for Appellate Practice and as Metropolitan Tier 2 in West Palm Beach, FL for Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants. The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process. Please click here to learn more about the methodology for selection. Reprinted courtesy of Traub Lieberman Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Additional Insured is Loss Payee after Hurricane Damage

October 01, 2024 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Construing the policy language, the federal district court found that the policy's additional insured was the loss payee for damage caused by Hurricanes Laura and Delta. TCP Ryan St. LLC v. Weschester Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125529 (W.D. La. July 16, 2024). Hurricanes Laura and Delta caused damage to TCP Ryan Street, LLC's (TCP) property. Westchester had issued a policy to MRI Heritage Brand, Inc. (MRI). MRI, as lessee, was obligated pursuant to the lease terms to "purchase and maintain . . . a policy of fire, extended coverage, vandalism and malicious mischief (or 'all risk') insurance coverage on all real property situated at the Lease Premises." The lease also required MRI to obtain coverage under a policy naming only the landlord as the sole insured and provided that the proceeds would be payable to the landlord. The policy provided that no entity was covered unless Westchester had received identifying information for the entity during the application process or the entity was added by endorsement. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Defining a Property Management Agreement

June 22, 2020 — Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
This article will serve as a guide to what is needed in a Property Management Agreement to avoid potential real estate disputes between owners and property managers. What is a Property Management Agreement? With the known volatility in the stock market since the “Dot-com Bubble” in the late 1990’s the Financial Crisis spanning 2007 to 2009, and even today’s global market crash arising from the COVID-19 Pandemic, people have looked to invest in options such as real estate that have proven to be more stable than the fluctuating and uncertain stock market. Today, more than ever, people have recognized the benefits in real estate and diversified their investments to include the ownership of residential or commercial property. This has grown to become a lucrative source of income. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP

The Argument for Solar Power

July 09, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Jennifer Goodman in Big Builder provides eight reasons why buyers should opt for solar power. First on her list is “Codes.” Goodman pointed out that beginning in 2020, “California’s Title 24 will require all new residential construction to be net-zero energy, which means that they will need renewable energy systems in order to generate as much power as they consume.” Other reasons include incentives, aesthetics, appraisal/lending standards, payback, legislation, cost, and finally, “clean, quiet, and abundant power.” Goodman stated that the “technology generates no noise or off gassing and because solar power is generated from sunlight--not heat--even residents in the northern U.S. are able to take advantage of it.” Read the court decision
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Florida Condos Bet on Americans Making 50% Down Payments

October 29, 2014 — John Gittelsohn – Bloomberg
Jorge Perez crashed along with the real estate market, then regained his crown as Florida’s “Condo King” by building new projects with 50 percent deposits from foreign buyers. Now, for his next development, he’s looking to wealthy Americans. In December, he’ll begin marketing the Auberge Beach Residences and Spa Fort Lauderdale, a $500 million oceanfront project 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Miami. He expects as many as two-thirds of the buyers to come from the U.S. or Canada. All future owners must pay hefty deposits to finance construction by Perez’s Related Group, Fortune International Group and Fairwinds Group in a partnership that the companies plan to announce tomorrow. “The U.S. buyers have made up an increasing share of luxury beachfront condominiums and, like our foreign buyers, they have shown little resistance to larger deposits,” Perez said in an e-mail. “Most feel that if they can’t put a 50 percent down payment, they probably should not be buying.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of John Gittelsohn, Bloomberg
Mr. Gittelsohn may be contacted at johngitt@bloomberg.net

AB 1701 – General Contractor Liability for Subcontractors’ Unpaid Wages

December 01, 2017 — Alex Baghdassarian, Eric M. Gruzen, & Kerri Sakaue – Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Contractors will soon find themselves on the frontline of wage disputes on projects if laborers working on behalf of their subcontractors or vendors are unpaid. On October 14, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 1701, which will allow laborers to seek direct compensation from the general contractors on private projects, if their wages remain unpaid. The legislative mandate requires direct contractors—defined as contractors who have a direct contractual relationship with an owner—to assume liability for any debt incurred by a subcontractor, at any tier, for a wage claimant’s performance of labor included in the subject of the original contract between the general contractor and the owner. The California bill will apply to all private construction contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2018. Previously, all laborers could maintain a mechanic’s lien claim against private property, without needing to serve a 20-day preliminary notice, but there was no statutory obligation on the “direct contractors” to reimburse the laborers their unpaid wages. Reprinted courtesy of Peckar & Abramson, P.C. attorneys Alex Baghdassarian, Eric M. Gruzen and Kerri Sakaue Mr. Baghdassarian may be contacted at abaghdassarian@pecklaw.com Mr. Gruzen may be contacted at egruzen@pecklaw.com Ms. Sakaue may be contacted at ksakaue@pecklaw.com Read the court decision
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Nevada Senate Rejects Construction Defect Bill

June 07, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

The Las Vegas Sun reports that Assembly Bill 401, the construction defect bill, lost in a vote of 9 to 12. The measure extended the time for construction defect suits to be filed, awarded legal costs only to successful plaintiffs, and set a definition of construction defects. Two Democrats joined the Republicans in the Senate in defeating the bill.

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VOSH Jumps Into the Employee Misclassification Pool

July 30, 2015 — Christopher G. Hill – Construction Law Musings
The proper classification of workers by construction companies has been on the radar of the Department of Labor for both the US and Virginia governments for quite a while. While most of the misclassification is innocent and not done to create issues, there have been enough instances of purposeful misclassification of certain workers as independent contractors (thus avoiding workers comp and other payroll expenses) that innocent contractors have born the brunt of these issues through increased payroll costs over those that misclassify (in the form of necessarily higher bids, higher overhead, etc.). As an additional deterrent to improper classification of workers, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry has issued guidelines for what will occur in Virginia Department of Safety and Health (VOSH) cases. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Christopher G. Hill, Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

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