Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Living With a Millennial. Or Grandma.

July 23, 2014 — Zara Kessler – Bloomberg
It turns out millennials really do live in their parents’ houses -- at least according to a Pew Research Center report out today. Almost 57 million people in the U.S. -- 18.1 percent of the population -- lived in a multigenerational household in 2012, including almost one in four 25- to 34-year-olds. This provides needed context to the "millennials living in the basement" phenomenon, and, well, stereotype. Of course, "multigenerational household" is not synonymous with "millennial living in the basement." Pew's definition of the former term is more expansive than the one used by the U.S. Census Bureau (whose data Pew analyzes in the report). There's more detail in the report, but here’s the Sparknotes version: A multi-generational household is a household that includes at least two adult generations (for example, parents and adult children ages 25 or older where either generation can be the household head) or two non-sequential generations (for example, grandparents and grandchildren of any age). Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Zara Kessler, Bloomberg
Ms. Kessler may be contacted at zkessler@bloomberg.net

John O’Meara is Selected as America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators

December 02, 2019 — John O'Meara - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP is proud to announce that Partner John V. O’Meara has been selected as a member of America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators. This invitation resulted from a national selection process and is intended to honor the best defense attorneys in the Country. Mr. O’Meara was selected to join a group of lawyers which include past and current state bar presidents, national ABOTA Presidents, ABOTA Masters in Trial and International Academy of Trial Lawyer presidents. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of John O'Meara, Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara, LLP
Mr. O'Meara may be contacted at jomeara@bremerwhyte.com

Cameron Pledges to Double Starter Homes to Boost Supply

March 05, 2015 — Svenja O’Donnell – Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to double the number of homes built for first-time buyers by the end of the next parliamentary term in a bid to tackle Britain’s housing shortage. In a speech in Colchester, Essex, on Monday setting out the final part of his Tory party’s six-point campaign platform for the May 7 election, Cameron said 200,000 properties will be built by 2020 under his starter-homes plan. Prices of the homes, only available to first-time buyers under the age of 40, will be capped at 450,000 pounds ($692,000) in London and 250,000 pounds outside the capital. Reduced planning constraints will make it easier for developers to cut building costs, allowing the homes to be sold at a 20 percent discount. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Svenja O’Donnell, Bloomberg
Ms. O’Donnell may be contacted at sodonnell@bloomberg.net

Texas Supreme Court: Breach of Contract Not Required to Prevail on Statutory Bad Faith Claim

June 06, 2018 — Bethany L. Barrese - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
In USAA Texas Lloyds Company v. Menchaca, the Supreme Court of Texas clarified long-standing confusion regarding whether damages for bad faith are recoverable in the absence of a breach of contract under Texas law. The Menchaca case takes an in-depth dive into decades’ worth of Texas precedent and concludes that, under certain circumstances, an insured can recover policy benefits as damages for bad faith without finding that the insurer was in breach of contract. The story of this case begins with Hurricane Ike in September 2008. Homeowner Gail Menchaca contacted her homeowner’s insurance company, USAA Texas Llloyds Company (“USAA”) to report that the storm had damaged her home. USAA sent an adjuster to investigate the claim, and USAA determined that although the policy covered some of the damage, no benefits would be paid under the policy because the repair estimate did not exceed the policy deductible. Five months later, at Ms. Menchaca’s request, another USAA adjuster inspected the property and reached the same conclusion. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bethany L. Barrese, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Ms. Barrese may be contacted at blb@sdvlaw.com

Do Hurricane-Prone Coastal States Need to Update their Building Codes?

April 15, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Property Casualty 360 reported that “a number of coastal states took no action to improve their building code systems since 2012, and a few have weaker systems in place, according to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).” The IBHS released their “Rating the States” report that published the results of their study of “the 18 most hurricane-prone states located along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast on their building regulations.” States can receive up to 100 points, with a higher score reflecting better state building requirements. Delaware scored lowest with a mere 17 points—the same score it received in 2012. Virginia, the highest scored state, earned 95 points. Read the court decision
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Why Should Businesses Seek Legal Help Early On?

December 03, 2024 — Scott L. Baker - Los Angeles Litigation Blog
Most business owners are natural problem solvers. They assess the issue that lies before them and develop a strategy to overcome it. It’s a critical mindset to have, but do all business owners have the skillset to solve every issue? While it is understandable that business owners may want to attempt to resolve issues on their own, it is invariably beneficial to obtain guidance for legal issues earlier rather than later. 3 Reasons to Consult an Attorney Sooner than Later Many people might consider working with an attorney to be a last resort. Typically, this is not the case; rather, getting knowledgeable legal counsel sooner than later can help business owners because:

It’s Cheaper: Early legal intervention can often prevent disputes from leading to litigation, which can be expensive. Working with an attorney to resolve a conflict before it escalates into a larger issue is often a good business decision and wise investment.

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Reprinted courtesy of Scott L. Baker, Baker & Associates
Mr. Baker may be contacted at slb@bakerslaw.com

Tension Over Municipal Gas Bans Creates Uncertainty for Real Estate Developers

February 07, 2022 — Sidney L. Fowler, Robert G. Howard & Emily Huang - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
On November 15, 2021, the New York City Council approved a bill banning gas hookups in new buildings, making the biggest city in the U.S. the latest in a string of municipalities to prohibit natural gas infrastructure in new homes and buildings. In the two-and-a-half years since Berkeley, California, passed its then-novel municipal ban on new natural gas infrastructure, numerous cities have found themselves at odds with state governments and industry groups on the issue of full electrification in residential and commercial real estate. The resulting disputes, litigation and regulatory uncertainty have created headaches for the real estate industry. Although not all view the restrictions as negative, and many developers have embraced the push for more climate-neutral buildings, these bans introduce complexity to the real estate market, raising additional legal and commercial challenges. Background According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the use of natural gas in homes and businesses accounts for 13 percent of annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. For that reason, advocacy groups have pushed cities to prohibit natural gas infrastructure in new construction and encourage full electrification of newly constructed buildings. In addition to New York and Berkeley, cities that have either passed or considered such ordinances include San Francisco, Sacramento, Seattle and Denver, as well as numerous smaller cities. New York City’s newly passed gas ban, in particular, prohibits natural gas hookups in new buildings under seven stories by 2024, and in taller buildings by 2027, but exempts hookups in commercial kitchens. Reprinted courtesy of Sidney L. Fowler, Pillsbury, Robert G. Howard, Pillsbury and Emily Huang, Pillsbury Mr. Fowler may be contacted at sidney.fowler@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Howard may be contacted at robert.howard@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Huang may be contacted at emily.huang@pillsburylaw.com Read the court decision
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Firm Seeks to Squash Subpoena in Coverage CD Case

May 20, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to the New Jersey Law Journal, the insurance firm Carroll McNulty & Kull was “subpoenaed in connection with an out-of-state coverage dispute stemming from construction litigation that yielded a $55 million verdict," and "is fighting a demand that it hand over its file.” Carroll McNulty & Kull told the New Jersey Law Journal that “the subpoena ‘is a transparent attempt to obtain documents ordinarily protected by the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine.” The New Jersey Law Journal reported that the subpoena “seeks ‘your entire file for the time period beginning Oct. 1, 2012, and ending June 19, 2014, pertaining in any manner to insurance policies issued by Crum and Forster Specialty Insurance Company.’ Included in the demand are ‘all handwritten or electronically stored notes; electronic and other communications,’ ‘emails and all attachments to those emails, time records, and bills,’ and ‘any documents and materials reviewed.’” U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan has been assigned the motion to quash. Read the court decision
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FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES