Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

New York Philharmonic Will Open Geffen Hall Two Years Ahead of Schedule

April 11, 2022 — James Tarmy - Bloomberg
After decades of setbacks, the New York Philharmonic will finally perform in a gut-renovated concert hall in October. “The key is—two years early—on budget and on schedule,” says a triumphant Deborah Borda, the president and chief executive officer of the New York Philharmonic, standing under a scaffold in what will be the completely revamped concert hall. A happy ending was by no means guaranteed. The venue, set at New York’s Lincoln Center, had problems almost as soon as its doors opened in 1962. Concertgoers and performers complained that the sound was muddy and deadening. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of James Tarmy, Bloomberg

Government Claims Act Does Not Apply to Actions Solely Seeking Declaratory Relief and Not Monetary Relief

March 25, 2024 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
Perhaps it should come as no surprise, but public entities get special treatment under the law, and when filing a claim against a public entity, in most cases, a claimant is required to file a claim with the public entity before filing suit under the Government Claims Act (Gov. Code §810 et seq.). But, as the next case demonstrates, that’s not always the case. In Stronghold Engineering Incorporated v. City of Monterey, 96 Cal.App.5th 1203 (2023), the 6th District Court of Appeals examined whether a public works contractor that alleged an extended overhead claim was required to file a Government Claims Act claim before filing suit when its initial complaint was limited to a claim for declaratory relief. The Stronghold Case In December 2015, general contractor Stronghold Engineering Incorporated entered into a construction contract with the City of Monterey for the renovation of the City’s conference center and an adjacent city-owned plaza. The construction contract provided that any modification to the construction contract had to be approved by the City through a written change order. No surprise there. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

St. Petersburg Florida’s Tallest Condo Tower Allegedly Riddled with Construction Defects

October 15, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
In a new lawsuit, the Signature Place Condominium Association claims "it is spending ‘large sums' of money to repair problems ranging from cracks in exterior walls to improper fire wall installation to excessive noise from air-conditioning and heating systems,” according to the Tampa Bay Times. The lawsuit also stated that “some of the alleged defects were hidden by building components and finishes and thus were not discovered by owners "until after the purchase and occupancy of the unit,” reported the Tampa Bay Times. The association “seeks damages in excess of $15,000, cites more than 100 other alleged construction and design defects.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Update Regarding New York City’s Climate Mobilization Act (CMA) and the Reduction of Carbon Emissions in New York City

July 05, 2021 — Caroline A. Harcourt, Natalie S. Starkman & Nika Bederman - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In a previous post, we described how the New York City Climate Mobilization Act, 2019 (the CMA, or Local Laws 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, and 147 enacted in 2019) was passed with the goal of reducing New York City’s carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and by 80 percent by 2050 (as against a 2005 baseline as provided for in item 3 of Local Law 97). It is the most ambitious building emissions law to be enacted by any city in the world. The CMA impacts “Covered Buildings” (described below) and, besides contemplating the retrofitting of Covered Buildings to achieve energy efficiency and establishing a monitoring program for Covered Buildings, the CMA contemplates compliance by means of the purchase of carbon offset credits or renewable energy. (Note the new NYC Accelerator program, launched in 2012 by the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, provides guidance regarding energy-efficient upgrades to properties and emission reductions.) Pursuant to the CMA:

Beginning in 2024, Covered Buildings will have to meet the first emission targets, which are calculated by multiplying the gross floor area of each Covered Building by the occupancy classification as set forth in Local Law 97; and
In 2025, owners of Covered Buildings will need to establish compliance by submitting a report establishing such compliance (prepared by a certified design professional) to the newly created Office of Building Energy and Emissions Performance.

Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Caroline A. Harcourt, Pillsbury
Ms. Harcourt may be contacted at caroline.harcourt@pillsburylaw.com

End of an Era: Los Angeles County Superior Court Closes the Personal Injury Hub

October 24, 2022 — Elizabeth A. Evans & Angela S. Haskins - Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
On September 21, 2022, the Los Angeles County Superior Court announced that it would start a gradual shutdown of the Personal Injury Hub, currently located at the Spring Street Courthouse. This closure will see the return of personal injury cases being venued in the district where they occurred. The Personal Injury Hub was established in 2012 as a means of consolidating personal injury cases after several civil courtrooms around the County were closed due to significant budget cuts. It first began as two courtrooms in Stanley Mosk Superior Court, then moved to the Spring Street Courthouse and ballooned to six courtrooms, each handling a case load of reportedly over 9,000 cases at times. Case Management Conferences were abolished and the parties were largely left to their own devices to move cases along. At times, slow chaos ensued. With a new and increased budget, Los Angeles Superior Court has now decided that enough is enough. Effective October 10, 2022, new personal injury cases will be filed and handled from start to finish in independent calendar courtrooms in the districts where the events giving rise to the claims occurred. Any cases properly filed in the Central District will continue to be heard in the Personal Injury Hub for now. A new Civil Case Cover Sheet Addendum that reflects this change will be available on the Los Angeles County Superior Court website for use as of October 10th. Reprinted courtesy of Elizabeth A. Evans, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP and Angela S. Haskins, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP Ms. Evans may be contacted at eevans@hbblaw.com Ms. Haskins may be contacted at ahaskins@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Top 10 Insurance Cases of 2023

January 29, 2024 — Jeffrey J. Vita & Michael A. Amato - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Federal and state courts tackled many interesting insurance-related issues this past year. Perhaps no state had a more impactful year than Illinois, which held that construction defects could constitute an occurrence, that a LEG 3 “extension” attempting to preclude coverage for faulty or defective workmanship was ambiguous as a matter of law (applying Illinois law), and that ostensibly prohibitive “catch-all exclusions” can render policy language ambiguous in favor of coverage. Other courts wrestled with procedural inquiries, such as the legal duty of a broker in providing notice to an insurer or the ability of an insured to recoup its attorneys’ fees in pursuing a coverage action against its insurer. These are merely a sampling of the impactful insurance decisions rendered in 2023. Each year, we endeavor to identify cases of general interest to our clients and the broader insurance community. Specifically, we attempt to identify trends, cases of first impression, cases illustrating conflicts among the courts, or cases dealing with emerging issues. We now proudly unveil the top 10 most influential coverage decisions of 2023 and look ahead to a few cases to watch as 2024 unfolds. Reprinted courtesy of Jeffrey J. Vita, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. and Michael A. Amato, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. Mr. Vita may be contacted at JVita@sdvlaw.com Mr. Amato may be contacted at MAmato@sdvlaw.com Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Connecting Construction Project Information: Open Technology Databases Improve Project Communication, Collaboration and Visibility

March 14, 2018 — Andy Kayhanfar - InEight
The construction industry has been plagued for decades with projects coming in over budget and behind schedule. There are many reasons this happens, but it ultimately comes down to just one thing – a lack of connected information. Today, gigabytes and even terabytes of data are generated on a project and housed in different systems that do not talk or share information, which creates a closed approach and inhibits collaboration. Data is siloed and only accessible to certain companies, departments or disciplines, which gives each project stakeholder a very limited view into the status of the project as they are making decisions. To be successful, the construction industry needs to free project data from closed systems. There must be a way to give all project stakeholders access to accurate information within the context of how it applies to the overall project that will empower everyone from owners to engineers to contractors to make timely, fully informed decisions that bring projects in on time and within budget. INTRODUCING THE OPEN TECHNOLOGY DATABASE The need for deep visibility into project information across systems and stakeholders has given rise in the construction industry to the open technology database. This approach enables project stakeholders to link the data in their existing software systems and connect that information into one centralized location. Project stakeholders can continue to use and maintain the data in their own systems while still feeding the information to the shared environment, which brings together critical project details, provides context for decisions and makes it easier for all parties to collaborate. Project stakeholders are now able to connect business data related to estimating, cost control, scheduling, contracts, purchasing, accounting and more. This creates a common data set across the project that can be quickly accessed and can easily be put in the hands of project decision makers. Innovative companies are taking this connectivity to a new level. They see the potential to use 3D models beyond simply the design aspects of a project and bring them into the activities of construction. Innovators are taking all the project information available in the shared environment and connecting it to the 3D model to create a comprehensive view of the project. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Andy Kayhanfar, Construction Executive, a Publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All Rights Reserved

Engineering, Architecture, and Modern Technology – An Interview with Dr. Jakob Strømann-Andersen

September 14, 2020 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
We sat down with Dr. Jakob Strømann-Andersen of Henning Larsen’s Sustainability Engineering Department. Our talk covered the need for interdisciplinary research, sustainable practice, and how technology will lead change in the years ahead. Can you tell us a bit about your professional background and what you’re currently working on? I’m a partner with Henning Larsen and work with around 300 architects globally. We’re based in Copenhagen where we’re 200 people strong, with branches throughout the world. I’m a trained engineer with a civil engineering background – making me the first partner that’s not an architect. I’ve been with the company for 15 years and joined as an industrial research Ph.D. in Denmark. For my first three years here, I was employed as a researcher doing research and energy-efficient building design. And that’s where we started with our approach to sustainability. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES