Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Design Professional Asserting Copyright Infringement And Contributory Copyright Infringement

May 01, 2019 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Standard form construction contracts between an owner and design profesional will address copyright protection, as well as other contractual protections, associated with a design professional’s “instruments of service.” An owner negotiating an agreement with a design professional should consider alternative language that broadens the scope of the contractual license given to it with respect to the use of the design. Regardless, a design professional’s copyright infringement claim is still a challenging claim to ultimately prevail on. While a design professional may likely survive the motion to dismiss stage in a copyright infringement claim, whether it survives the summary judgment stage is another, more challenging, story. “To state a claim for copyright infringement a plaintiff [design professional] must assert [and prove the following two prongs]: ‘(1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of constituent elements of the work that are original.’” Robert Swedroe Architect Planners, A.I.A., P.A. v. J. Milton & Associates, Inc., 2019 WL 1059836, *3 (S.D.Fla. 2019) quoting Feist Publ’ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., Inc., 499 U.S. 340, 361 (1991). In the first prong, the design professional must establish it complied with statutory formalities to own a valid copyright. Id. In the second prong, the design professional must establish that the defendant copied constituent elements that are original. Id. There is also a claim known as contributory copyright infringement. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dadelstein@gmail.com

Paris ‘Locks of Love’ Overload Bridges, Threatening Structures

June 11, 2014 — Helene Fouquet and Mark Deen - Bloomberg
Le Pont des Arts, the landmark Paris footbridge that links the Louvre museum to the Saint Germain neighborhood, is buckling under the weight of “love locks.” The Paris mayor’s office closed the bridge last night to replace a grate after thousands of locks weighed down its structure. Its railings are crumbling, threatening pedestrians on the bridge and cruise boats that ply under it on the Seine River. The bridge was reopened today after it was checked for safety, with two fire-department boats standing by to avert any potential incident. Although the origins of the trend are unclear, it has become a tradition for lovers to attach a lock to the railing on the sides of bridges in Paris to seal their love. Each lock weighs about 54 to 90 grams. The mayor of Paris’s 6th arrondissement, where the bridge is located, says the locks on the Pont des Arts weigh as much 10 tons, or 22,000 pounds. The grate that collapsed yesterday weighed about 200 kilos and the bridge has about 50 of them. Ms. Fouquet may be contacted at hfouquet1@bloomberg.net; Mr. Deen may be contacted at markdeen@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Helene Fouquet and Mark Deen, Bloomberg

Patent or Latent: An Important Question in Construction Defects

October 25, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Pieter M. O’Leary, writing for the site AVVO offers the advice that whether a construction defect is patent or latent could influence whether or not it’s covered in a construction defect claim. He notes that a “patent defect” is “a construction defect that is ‘readily observable or evident,’” while a “latent defect” is “a construction defect that is present but not readily detectable even with reasonable care.” While this may sound like a simple distinction, he notes that “distinguishing between the two can often be difficult and sometimes highly contested by the various parties in a lawsuit.” The first question is “whether the average consumer, during the course of a reasonable inspection, would discover the defect.” The question arises because “if a defect is hidden and not detectable (latent defect), a longer time period exists for the claimant to file a claim.” Read the court decision
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U.S. Supreme Court Allows Climate Change Lawsuits to Proceed in State Court

May 01, 2023 — George Leahy - Lewis Brisbois
Washington, D.C. (April 25, 2023) - On Monday, April 24, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear appeals by several major energy companies that sought to remove lawsuits filed by state and local governments from state court into federal court. The Court’s certiorari denials reject companies’ appeals in five separate cases, which involved claims brought by municipalities in Colorado, Maryland, California, Hawaii, and Rhode Island. Each municipality claims that it has been harmed by the effects of climate change, allegedly attributed to the companies’ carbon emissions. The Court’s denials effectively allow the lawsuits to continue in state court, often seen as favorable for plaintiffs due to a greater potential for jury trials and associated damages awards than might be available in federal court. Following a 2021 Supreme Court ruling in a related case that granted the companies an additional chance to argue that their cases should be heard in federal court, the lower federal appeals courts in each of the five cases concluded that the companies had not established sufficient grounds to establish proper venue and jurisdiction in federal court. The Supreme Court’s April 24 denial leaves those decisions unaltered, allowing the lawsuits to continue in state court for further consideration. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of George Leahy, Lewis Brisbois

Greg Dillion & Newmeyer Dillion Named 2019 Good Scout Award Recipient

November 24, 2019 — Newmeyer Dillion
Newmeyer Dillion, a prominent business and real estate law firm, today announced Greg Dillion and the firm were named the 2019 Good Scout Award recipient by the Boy Scouts of America, Orange County Council. Dillion and the firm were recognized at the 38th annual Construction Industry Luncheon on November 18th at Hotel Irvine in Irvine, CA. The award is given to individual/company in recognition of their outstanding character, leadership in their industry and commitment to their community. "When reviewing the 12 points of the Scout's law, with each point as a goal for every Scout to live up to, the two that stand out the most for me that Greg embodies are that Greg is 'helpful' and Greg is 'brave,'" says Newmeyer Dillion's Managing Partner Paul Tetzloff, who served as Master of Ceremonies for this year's award. "Greg has the instantaneous willingness to help, and he will make the time to help even when he has no time to do so. Greg never runs and he never backs down. He is the person that we look up to. He never hesitates, and he never blames. He only moves forward. I've been blessed in my life to be around and influenced by some tremendous leaders. Greg is the real deal. The Boy Scouts could not have picked a better man to honor." Greg Dillion is a founding partner of Newmeyer Dillion. Established 35 years ago, the firm has grown from three attorneys to over 70 in three offices. Along with an active trial and appellate public and private practice, Dillion represents residential and commercial developers and other businesses in complex and high stakes business, insurance, real estate and construction disputes. He also advises on insurance policy placement and review; risk avoidance, transfer and management; and alternative dispute resolution methods, techniques and enforceability. Dillion is active in the community in which he serves, as a supporter of numerous charities and non-profit organizations like the American Cancer Society, Boys Scouts of America, The City of Hope, Interval House, Joyful Child, The Catalina Conservancy, Orangewood Foundation, The Shea Center, The Catalina Cowboy Heritage Foundation and more. He currently sits on the Board for the Surfing Heritage & Culture Center and the Los Caballeros. Learn More: https://www.newmeyerdillion.com/gregory-l-dillion/ https://vimeo.com/374510243/a587df2eaa About Newmeyer Dillion For 35 years, Newmeyer Dillion has delivered creative and outstanding legal solutions and trial results for a wide array of clients. With over 70 attorneys practicing in all aspects of corporate, employment, real estate, privacy & data security and insurance law, Newmeyer Dillion delivers legal services tailored to meet each client's needs and takes an integrated and holistic approach to its legal representation that propels each clients' vision, mission, culture, operations, peace of mind and bottom line. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with offices in Walnut Creek, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, Newmeyer Dillion attorneys are recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©, and Super Lawyers as top tier and some of the best lawyers in California, and have been given Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review's AV Preeminent® highest rating. For additional information, call 949.854.7000 or visit www.ndlf.com. Read the court decision
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Trends: “Nearshoring” Opportunities for the Construction Industry

July 22, 2024 — Jerry P. Brodsky & Roberto Hernandez - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
“Nearshoring” is a hot topic throughout Latin America and is receiving increasing attention in the United States. We offer this introduction to “Nearshoring” and the opportunities it presents for your reference. “Nearshoring” has become increasingly relevant in the context of the globalized economy. This phenomenon describes relocating production and service operations to countries geographically close to consumer markets, instead of opting for more distant locations as in traditional “offshoring”, considering, as dominant criteria, production conditions and costs. Mexico, for example, given its strategic geographic closeness to the United States and its highly skilled labor force, is an attractive location for companies in a wide range of industries which are considering relocation or construction of new facilities and seeking to optimize costs, maintain efficiency and mitigate supply chain risks. Reprinted courtesy of Jerry P. Brodsky, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Roberto Hernandez, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Mr. Brodsky may be contacted at jbrodsky@pecklaw.com Read the court decision
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Creating a Custom Home Feature in the Great Outdoors

July 09, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
When a resort designer and a spa director join together to create a custom home, what do you get? An outdoor tub that resides on a balcony overlooking the San Francisco Bay. According to Custom Home, Scott Lee, president of SB Architects, and his wife had the “custom cast concrete tub…craned into place on the third-story deck while avoiding an established oak tree.” A radiant heat lamp makes the outdoor bathing area practical, while the curved backrest, remote controlled dimmable lights, and music make the experience luxurious. “Tubs are more about relaxing then getting clean,” Lee told Custom Home. “Being out here among the branches with views of San Francisco, it really is like a resort.” Read the court decision
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Reconstructing the Francis Scott Key Bridge Utilizing the Progressive Design-Build Method

June 04, 2024 — Lisa D. Love - The Dispute Resolver
Having awakened on the morning of March 26 to the devastating news of the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after being struck by the Dali, a 984 length /52 beam foot cargo container ship, I thought of the many times I crossed the bridge as a child growing up in Washington, D.C. I also recalled Montgomery Schyler’s comments on the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, when he stated that “the work which is likely to be our most durable monument, and to convey some knowledge of us to the most remote posterity, is a work of bare utility; not a shrine, not a fortress, not a palace, but a bridge.” I thought of the beauty of New York’s Mario Cuomo Bridge, a 3.1-mile cable-stayed twin-span bridge with eight traffic lanes, bicycle and pedestrian paths, six lookout points and room for future rapid transit. It was completed in 2018 and constructed under a design-build procurement model[i] at a cost of $3.98 billion. Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) techniques were utilized in its construction. ABC techniques employ innovative planning, design, materials, and construction methods in a safe and cost-effective manner to reduce the on-site construction time that occurs when building new bridges or replacing and rehabilitating existing ones. ABC techniques improve site constructability, total project delivery time, work-zone safety for the traveling public and traffic impacts, on-site construction time, and weather-related time delays.[ii] I also thought of the gracefulness of Boston’s Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, a 0.27-mile hybrid cable-stayed steel and concrete bridge with pedestrian and bicycle access that holds 10 lanes of traffic. The Zakim Bridge was completed in 2004 at a cost of approximately $100 million as part of the $24.3 billion Big Dig.[iii] Despite its elegant, streamlined appearance, the bridge was designed to be exceptionally strong, withstand winds over 400 miles per hour and endure a magnitude 7.9 earthquake.[iv] Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Lisa D. Love, JAMS

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