New Becker & Poliakoff Attorney to Expand Morristown Construction Litigation Practice
September 10, 2014 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFAccording to New Jersey On-Line, Matthew Meyers has joined the Becker & Poliakoff firm at its Morristown office. Meyers “specializes in commercial litigation, with an emphasis on complex construction defects and real estate disputes.”
“This is an exciting move for me,” Meyers stated, as quoted by New Jersey On-Line. “I was attracted to Becker by the firm’s depth of construction litigation talent and the additional resources available for these claims. My new firm will not only enhance my practice but will elevate the level of services I provide to clients, which has always been my top priority.“
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
One-Upmanship by Contractors In Prevailing Wage Decision Leads to a Bad Result for All . . . Perhaps
July 19, 2021 —
Garret Murai - California Construction Law BlogFights between contractors can be a bit like Mad magazine’s “Spy vs. Spy” with each side trying to out outwit and one-up one another. The next case, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement v. Built Pacific, Inc., Case No. D076601 (March 15, 2021), is a case in point.
The Built Pacific Case
Built Pacific, Inc. was a subcontractor to Austin Sundt Joint Venture on a public works project known as the San Diego Regional Airport Authority Project.
In 2015, following an investigation by the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), the DLSE issued a Civil Wage Penalty Assessment of $119,319.76 based on Built Pacific’s failure to pay prevailing wages. The DLSE also named Austin Sundt in the Civil Wage Assessment pursuant to Labor Code 1743 which makes contractors and subcontractors jointly and severally liable for wage violations. As a result of the Civil Wage Assessment, Austin Sundt withheld approximately $70,000 in retention from Built Pacific.
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Garret Murai, Nomos LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@nomosllp.com
Appeals Court Affirms Civil Engineer Owes No Duty of Care to General Contractor
August 20, 2014 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFAccording to Shareholder Karen Holmes and Law Clerk Justin Reid of Balestreri Potocki & Holmes, in Atlas-Allied v. SD Community College District, the California Court of Appeal “confirmed that a civil engineer owes no duty of care to the General Contractor absent privity of contract.” The Appellate court considered Beacon Residential Community Association v. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP to reach that conclusion.
Holmes and Reid commented that the Atlas-Allied decision “can assist in clarifying the extent liability is owed when no contract exists. Here, while unpublished, the 4th District clearly refused to extend a duty by the civil engineer to the general contractor on a public works project, giving counsel guidance on the application of Beacon and prior decisions on design professionals’ liability.”
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Shea Homes CEO Receives Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian Award
February 12, 2014 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFBert Selva, Shea Homes CEO, received the Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian Award at the 2014 NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to Big Builder. Selva “has served for 11 years on HomeAid's board of directors,” and “is a big supporter of the nonprofit that works to provide housing for homeless families, victims of natural disasters, and veterans.” Furthermore, “Shea Homes has built eight HomeAid shelter projects valued at more than $5.2 million and has contributed nearly $850,000 to HomeAid and its chapters, making it one of the group's largest benefactors.” Not only does Selva actively support HomeAid, he also “serves as a national vice president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.”
"I ask myself, 'How would it feel if that were me or my family?'" Selva told Big Builder. "When you personalize it, it becomes a lot more real and that's the motivation for me."
The award “includes recognition at an event during the 2014 International Builders' Show and a cash award to a charity of his choice.”
Read the full story, Jennifer Goodman’s Article...
Read the full story, John McManus’s Article... Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Free Texas MCLE Seminar at BHA Houston June 13th
May 29, 2014 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFThere are just two weeks remaining to sign up for Bert L. Howe & Associate’s next Texas MCLE seminar, THE RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION PROCESS & CONSTRUCTION DEFECT LITIGATION.
This activity will be presented on Friday, June 13th at noon, at BHA’s Houston offices, located at:
800 Town & Country Blvd.
Suite 300
Houston, TX 77024
There is no cost for attendance at this seminar and lunch will be provided.
This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 1.0 credit hours, of which 0.0 credit hours will apply to legal ethics/professional responsibility credit. The seminar will be presented by Don MacGregor, general contractor and project manager.
Water intrusion through doors, windows and roofing systems, as well as soil and foundation-related movement, and the resultant damage associated therewith, are the triggering effects for the vast majority of homeowner complaints today and serve as the basis for most residential construction defect litigation. The graphic and animation-supported workshop/lecture activity will focus on the residential construction process from site preparation through occupancy, an examination of associated damages most often encountered when investigating construction defect claims, and the inter-relationships between the developer, general contractor, sub trades and design professionals. Typical plaintiff homeowner/HOA expert allegations will be examined in connection with those building components most frequently associated with construction defect and claims litigation.
The workshop will examine:
*Typical construction materials, and terminology associated with residential construction
*The installation process and sequencing of major construction elements, including interrelationship with other building assemblies
*The parties (subcontractors) typically associated with major construction assemblies and components
*An analysis of exposure/allocation to responsible parties.
Attendance at THE RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION PROCESS & CONSTRUCTION DEFECT LITIGATION seminar will provide the attendee with:
*A greater understanding of the terms and conditions encountered when dealing with common construction defect issues
*A greater understanding of contractual scopes of work encountered when reviewing construction contract documents
*The ability to identify, both quickly and accurately, potentially responsible parties
*An understanding of damages most often associated with construction defects, as well as a greater ability to identify conditions triggering coverage
Course #: 901290467 / Sponsor #: 14152. To register for the event, please email Don MacGregor at dmac@berthowe.com. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Don at (800) 482-1822 (office) or (714) 713-4956 (cell).
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Five Haight Attorneys Selected for Best Lawyers in America© 2021
September 07, 2020 —
Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLPFive Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP attorneys were selected for Best Lawyers in America© 2021. Congratulations to William Baumgaertner, Bruce Cleeland, Peter Dubrawski, Michael Leahy and Denis Moriarty.
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Almost 94,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and Best Lawyers has received over 11 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
A Court-Side Seat: Flint Failures, Missed Deadlines, Toad Work and a Game of Chicken
October 05, 2020 —
Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2GavelThe last few weeks have yielded a number of interesting developments in the Federal courts.
FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEAL
In re Flint Water Cases
Several local and State of Michigan officials, including the former governor, requested dismissal from the civil litigation seeking damages for the massive failure of Flint, Michigan’s public drinking water system. On August 5, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit agreed that the plaintiffs, residents of Flint, have successfully pled a case that the conduct of the defendants so “shocked the conscience” that a claim for a violation of their substantive due process rights was appropriately alleged. The defendants, including the former governor, argued that they were entitled to a qualified immunity defense. The court rejected this argument on the basis of the earlier decisions made by the court in this matter. Judge Sutton concurred because he was bound by this precedent, but remarked that the evidence for the governor’s culpability was very thin; he was not intimately connected to the extraordinary error in judgment. The majority was very upset with this concurrence as indicted by their own opinion.
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Anthony B. Cavender, PillsburyMr. Cavender may be contacted at
anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Calls for CFPB Investigation into Tenant Screening Businesses
December 13, 2021 —
Brian H. Montgomery - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogSenator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, has written to
newly confirmed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, asking him to review companies in the tenant screening industry for possible Fair Credit Reporting Act violations and other violations of U.S. laws. The CFPB, for its part, has already published a bulletin alerting Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) and other furnishers of consumer information that, as federal, state and local pandemic-related housing protections expire, the Bureau will be giving greater enforcement focus to these businesses’ compliance with accuracy and dispute obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Regulation V. While it is still unclear whether Director Chopra will direct the Bureau to investigate specific businesses flagged by Chairman Brown, the tenant screening industry will likely face increased scrutiny in the coming months, which may impact their service offerings and cause interruptions for landlords relying on these businesses and services.
There are approximately 2,000 tenant screening companies across the United States. These companies are used by landlords to better identify and perform background checks on prospective tenants. These reports typically provide a prospective tenant’s rental and eviction histories, credit score, debt-to-income ratio, and outstanding credit obligations, among other financial metrics. The reports also usually include a criminal background check, including searches of sex offender registries and other public records searches. Many tenant screening companies then use this information to provide an estimate of the risk that each tenant presents, calculated through proprietary algorithmic formulas. These reports are usually available to landlords at a cost ranging from approximately $5 to $55 per report, usually passed through to the prospective tenant through application fees.
Read the court decisionRead the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Brian H. Montgomery, PillsburyMr. Montgomery may be contacted at
brian.montgomery@pillsburylaw.com
