FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Eye on Housing Examines Costs of Green Features

July 09, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing reported that it costs more to build a green home, however, builder’s experience with green techniques reduces costs. According to McGraw Hill Construction survey data (as quoted by Eye on Housing), “the incremental cost for builders to construct green homes was 8% in 2013. For remodelers, green projects raised costs by 9% on average.” Furthermore, “McGraw Hill’s analysis found that the cost to build green varied to some degree by the amount of green construction undertaken.” Read the court decision
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Co-Housing Startups Fly in the Face of Old-School NYC Housing Law

December 18, 2022 — Amelia Pollard & Diego Lasarte - Bloomberg
A room in an eight-bedroom Bed-Stuy brownstone with “charming views.” A five-bedroom “modern Manhattan” home. In a housing market as hot as New York City’s, these units advertised on co-housing companies’ websites sound promising. According to the city’s housing regulations, however, neither is legal. That hasn’t stopped companies from offering the rooms, as renters clamor for affordable living space. With the average studio apartment in Manhattan going for nearly $3,100 a month, newcomers to the city often find living with multiple roommates to be their best affordable-housing option. It’s a trend that startups have jumped on, and one some experts endorse as a way to quickly scale up affordable housing — even though municipal housing laws aren’t on board yet. The reality is that in many cities, housing laws that limit the number of unrelated individuals in a dwelling are still in place. New York, for instance, doesn’t allow more than three unrelated people to live in the same unit. To be sure, New Yorkers often break that law, as expensive housing forces people to find roommates through friends or on sites like Craigslist. But multimillion-dollar companies breaking that law is new.  Reprinted courtesy of Amelia Pollard, Bloomberg and Diego Lasarte, Bloomberg Read the court decision
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U.S. Home Sellers Return for Spring as Buyers Get Relief

February 10, 2014 — Prashant Gopal – Bloomberg
Suzanne Baker and her siblings bought a foreclosed home in Atlanta two years ago, added a fourth bathroom, then waited for values to rebound before considering a sale. Now, she says, they’re ready to cash in. The family last month listed the four-bedroom house in the affluent Buckhead neighborhood for $710,000. It was purchased as an investment for about $375,000 in late 2011, before bulk buyers snapped up many of the area’s distressed homes, helping to drive up prices in Atlanta by more than 25 percent. “The market is back up,” Baker said. “We think we can make a good amount of profit so we’re going to try.” For two years, a shortage of sellers like the Bakers has propped up prices across the U.S. as shoppers jostled for a dwindling supply of houses. Now, as the market’s busiest season approaches, escalating values are spurring more listings as homeowners regain equity lost in the worst crash since the 1930s. While new-home construction at a third of its 2006 peak will keep inventory tight, the supply increase is poised to damp price gains while higher mortgage rates cut into demand. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Prashant Gopal, Bloomberg
Mr. Gopal may be contacted at pgopal2@bloomberg.net

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Construction Law Firm Opens in D.C.

January 13, 2014 — CDJ STAFF
Stephen Palley, a lawyer in the Washington, D.C. area who was recognized in 2013 as a “DC Super Lawyer” for his work in construction litigation, has open his own firm, Palley Law, PLLC. Mr. Palley said that his practice “remains focused on addressing insurance issues faced by construction industry clients.” He also noted that “few firms focus specifically on construction insurance, so a significant part of my practice involves helping other lawyers with individual projects or disputes for their clients.” Read the court decision
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BWB&O Expands to North San Diego

December 09, 2019 — Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara
Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara is excited to announce our expansion to North San Diego County. Our new office location in Encinitas is strategically located between our Newport Beach and Downtown San Diego offices. The new North San Diego office will provide further resources to better serve our clients. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara

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Fort Lauderdale Partner Secures Defense Verdict for Engineering Firm in High-Stakes Negligence Case

June 10, 2024 — Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (June 3, 2024) - Fort Lauderdale Managing Partner Cheryl Wilke recently secured a defense verdict for civil engineering firm Gulfstream Design Group and its owner, Matthew Lahti, in a high-stakes professional negligence case in which the plaintiff sought more than $20 million. The verdict by a six-person jury in St. Augustine followed a nine-day trial. The case involved a 100-acre tract of land in St. Johns County, Florida, owned by the plaintiff, Cynthia Taylor. The land was zoned for rural farming, and she wished to sell the property for development. She entered into a contract with Southeast Georgia Acquisitions (“SGA”) to sell the property with the goal of creating a 200-home subdivision. SGA hired Doug Burnett as land use counsel and our client, Gulfstream Design Group, as the civil engineer to design the project. In St. Johns County, only a property owner can submit a Planned Unit Development Plan (“PUD”) for the purpose of rezoning. In this case, Burnett and Gulfstream created text and a proposed map for the PUD and submitted it for approval. The PUD was approved first at the staff level, then by planning and zoning and then by the County Commission. All the services were provided prior to closing with PUD approval, a condition of sale. Read the court decision
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Lien Claimant’s Right to Execute against Bond Upheld in Court of Appeals

February 10, 2012 — Douglas Reiser, Builders Council Blog

Stonewood v. Infinity Homes is a simple construction dispute over a matter of about $9,000.00. But sometimes these tiny little disputes turn into expensive legal battles over mere procedural quivering. In Stonewood, a small subcontractor won a big victory yesterday when the Divison 1 Court of Appeals upheld its judgment against a lien release bond posted by an owner.



Infinity Homes contracted with Stonewood Design to lay tile in one of its customer’s homes. Stonewood did the work, but Infinity withheld roughly $9,000.00 of the contract sums for what it alleged were trade damages left on the tile. The two parties were unable to come to an agreement over payment and Stonewood proceeded with a lien under RCW 60.04. It then filed an action to enforce the lien against the homeowner, Infinity and its bonding company.

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Reprinted courtesy of Douglas Reiser of Reiser Legal LLC. Mr. Reiser can be contacted at info@reiserlegal.com

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Brooklyn Atlantic Yards Yields Dueling Suits on Tower

September 03, 2014 — Erik Larson – Bloomberg
Forest City Ratner Cos., the initial developer of Brooklyn’s $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project surrounding Barclays Center arena, exchanged lawsuits with the Swedish construction firm Skanska AB (SKAB) over claims of design flaws and delays in building a stalled residential tower. The lawsuits, filed today in Manhattan state court, focus on a contract for the 34-floor “modular” residential high-rise building under construction next to the arena for the National Basketball Association’s Brooklyn Nets that opened in 2012 as the centerpiece of the former rail yard and a symbol of the New York borough’s resurgence. Skanska, a Stockholm-based firm that has grown to become New York’s second-largest building contractor, seeks at least $50 million in damages for changes to the building that were made without consultation, according to its complaint. Brooklyn-based Forest City Ratner blames Skanska for the project’s problems, citing “tens of millions of dollars” in cost overruns caused by a lack of skill and a failure to adhere to terms of the 2012 contract. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Erik Larson, Bloomberg
Mr. Larson may be contacted at elarson4@bloomberg.net

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