Columbus Ohio Building Expert Directory

Building Inspector Jailed for Taking Bribes

September 30, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

The LA Times reports that Raoul Germain, a city Los Angeles building inspector has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to taking bribes. Germain was caught as part of an FBI sting operation in which he approved work in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribes. The Times notes that that in some cases, Germain never visited the construction sites. Germain was offered a chance to cooperate with investigators. His lawyer, Steve Cron asked the Times, “What do you think happens to someone who cooperates?”

In addition to Germain, another city inspector has pleaded guilty to taking bribes and two more employees of the Department of Building and Safety have been fired in connection with the investigation.

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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (3/20/24) – Construction Backlog Falls, National Association of Realtors Settle Litigation, and Commercial Real Estate Market’s Effect on City Cuts

April 15, 2024 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, bad loans outweigh loss reserves at top six U.S. banks, the FCC announces a proposed rule aimed at “bulk billing,” office-to-multifamily conversion projects grow in major metro cities, and more!

The National Association of Realtors has agreed to settle litigation that accused them of artificially inflating real estate commissions – a major decision that could reshape the housing market for buyers, sellers and agents. (Rachel Siegel, The Washington Post)
An NYU professor considers the positives and negatives of cities cutting services or raising other kinds of taxes to offset the continued faltering of the commercial real estate market. (Alan Rappeport, The New York Times)
Construction backlog fell in February for every size of contractor except for those with under $30 million in annual revenue, while, over the past year, the largest contractors – those with greater than $50 million in revenue – have experienced the greatest decline in backlog. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive).

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

US Court Disputes $1.8B AECOM Damage Award in ‘Remarkable Fraud’ Suit

April 26, 2021 — Mary B. Powers - Engineering News-Record
A federal appeals court has thrown out a $1.8-billion award granted by a lower court three years ago to an AECOM unit in a bizarre legal battle involving a Nevada company that claimed to have won multiple contracts using the name of Morrison Knudsen—the former well-known Boise-based construction contractor that was sold in 1996, and through acquisitions, became part of design-build giant AECOM in 2014. Reprinted courtesy of Mary B. Powers, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Top 10 Take-Aways: the ABA Forum's 2024 Mid-Winter Meeting

February 26, 2024 — Marissa L. Downs - The Dispute Resolver
The Forum on Construction Law convened last week at Caesars Palace in sunny Las Vegas for its 2024 Mid-Winter Meeting. Carrie Okizaki and David Suchar (along with John Cook, Karen Erger, and countless others) put together a truly outstanding program on power projects. Here are my top 10 take-aways from this unique and insightful event: 10. The demand for power projects is steadily increasing. The increasing demand for power construction projects is being driven chiefly by the need to replace aging infrastructure as well as the desire to develop cleaner and more sustainable generation facilities. The constant demand for more and more electricity is not that surprising but, according to Jeff Richardson (Energy Solutions) and Eric S. Gould (Modus Strategic Solutions), the pipeline market size for power-generation projects in 2028 is expected to reach $10.6 trillion, i.e., double what it was just in 2022. 9. "Net Zero" is the new normal. In December 2021, President Biden issued an executive order proclaiming that, by 2050, the federal government will be a Net-Zero contributor to the climate crisis. To achieve this goal, the greenhouse gasses ("GHGs") released by government operations must be less than (or equal to) the GHGs absorbed/removed from the environment. Other government bodies and private companies alike are adopting similar Net-Zero goals. Because not all of these promises are created equal, Moody’s Investors Services has a tool to help consumers compare and evaluate companies' carbon transition plans. According to panelists, Amanda Schermer MacVey (Venable), Brendan Hennessey (Pillsbury), and Laszlo von Lazar (Black & Veatch), these Net-Zero commitments are likely to result in more rigorous supplier codes of conduct and heightened carbon tracing efforts on construction projects. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Marissa L. Downs, Laurie & Brennan, LLP
Ms. Downs may be contacted at mdowns@lauriebrennan.com

Conversations with My Younger Self: 5 Things I Wish I Knew Then

July 24, 2023 — Steve Swart - The Dispute Resolver
I remember the morning I became a construction law attorney. It was on my birthday several years ago when a partner called me into his office and asked me to review the A107 contract form for a large firm client. The assignment gave me a new language to speak and contract provisions that I came slowly to understand. I quickly moved into construction litigation and would soon learn that a "fragnet" was not the newest social media app but an important part of a delay claim. I read Spearin's biography and learned how to assess recoverable damages for different claims—costs to repair, replacement and betterment, increased financing/carrying costs, and the like. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get to where I am now. Echoing Rod Stewart’s sentiment—“I wish that I knew then, what I do now, when I was younger”—here are five tips I’d pass along to the younger me or anyone who is beginning their career as a construction lawyer: Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Steve Swart, Williams Mullen
Mr. Swart may be contacted at sswart@williamsmullen.com

Bremer Whyte Congratulates Nicole Nuzzo on OCBA Professionalism and Ethics Committee Appointment

November 17, 2016 — Beverley BevenFlorez – CDJ Staff
Nicole Nuzzo of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara LLP was selected as one of the fifteen members of the Orange County Bar Association’s (OCBA) Professionalism and Ethics Committee, announced the firm. Committee members “are committed to supporting and encouraging OCBA members to engage in the professional and ethical practice of law. Members of the Committee are appointed by the OCBA president.” Ms. Nuzzo practices Family Law at the firm’s Newport Beach, California office. Read the court decision
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Federal Courts Reject Insurers’ Attempts to Recoup Defense Costs Expended Under Reservation of Rights

April 11, 2022 — Anthony L. Miscioscia & Margo Meta - White and Williams
In situations where there is a dispute over a duty to defend, an insurer may provide a defense to its insured, subject to a reservation of rights, to not only deny coverage for a defense, but also to file a declaratory judgment action and recoup defense costs in the event it is determined there is no duty to defend. But are defense costs recoupable? Last week, federal trial courts in Georgia and Pennsylvania answered this question with a resounding “no”. In Chemical Equipment Labs, Inc. v. Travelers Property Casualty Company of America, Case No. 19-3441, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61298 (E.D.Pa. Mar. 31, 2022), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania was called to determine whether Travelers Property Casualty Company of America (Travelers) was entitled to reimbursement of defense costs after it was determined that it had no duty to defend its insured in an arbitration for breach of a charter agreement. The Travelers’ policies did not contain an express reimbursement provision. The court found that Travelers was not entitled to reimbursement because under Pennsylvania law, “[r]eimbursement of defense costs requires an express provision in the written insurance contract.” Reprinted courtesy of Anthony L. Miscioscia, White and Williams and Margo Meta, White and Williams Mr. Miscioscia may be contacted at misciosciaa@whiteandwilliams.com Ms. Meta may be contacted at metam@whiteandwilliams.com Read the court decision
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Port Authority Revises Plans for $10B Midtown NYC Bus Terminal Replacement

March 04, 2024 — Marigo Farr - Engineering News-Record
New York City's Midtown Manhattan bus terminal replacement project advanced last week after the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey released a draft environmental impact statement and a revised project plan based on feedback from commuters, residents and local officials. Reprinted courtesy of Marigo Farr, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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COLUMBUS OHIO BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES