SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

‘Revamp the Camps’ Cabins Displayed at the CA State Fair

July 30, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
This year, the California State Fair is displaying “four modern, environmentally friendly cabins” as “part of the ‘revamp the camps’ mission by the Forward Parks Commission, California State Parks and 12 architecture graduate students at Cal Poly Pomona,” according to the Sacramento Bee. The commission’s purpose is “to find solutions for the financial, cultural and population changes affecting state parks” including “drawing millennials and urban residents who live far from traditional state parks.” Guidelines stated that the cabins “had to be portable, accessible to the physically disabled and made from sustainable materials.” Furthermore the cabins had to be under $15,000 each, have no running water or electricity, and “[y]et the design had to appeal to a younger market.” “After a review of the surveys and recommendations from the Parks Forward Commission, the hope is to place the prototypes in state parks for public use,” the Sacramento Bee reported. Read the court decision
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No Choice between Homeowner Protection and Bankrupt Developers?

February 10, 2012 — CDJ STAFF

Donna DiMaggio Berger, writing in the Sun Sentinel argues those may be the only current choices in Florida. A recent court case, Lakeview Reserve HOA v. Maronda Homes has caused a swift response from the legislators. Ms. Berger notes that the construction defect bill, HB 1013, “would take away a homeowner’s rights to pursue a developer for defects to the driveways, roads, sidewalks, utilities, drainage areas and other so-called ‘off-site’ improvements.” The alternative? She notes that applying the Maronda decision would “bankrupt developers who don’t build defect-free roads and sidewalks.”

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California’s Right To Repair Act Is The Sole Remedy For Damages For Construction Defects In New Residential Construction

March 14, 2018 — Mark Johnson – Real Estate Litigation Blog
The California Supreme Court ruled in McMillin Albany LLC et al. v. The Superior Court of Kern County, (1/18/2018) 4 cal. 5th 241, that California’s Right to Repair Act, California Civil Code sections 895 et seq. (“Act”) is the sole remedy for construction defect claims for economic loss and property damages regarding new residential construction. The Act establishes a pre-litigation dispute resolution process that must be followed before filing a construction defect action for new residential construction purchased after January 1, 2003. The Act provides a builder with the right to attempt to repair construction defects before litigation is filed. The McMillin ruling resolved a split among two court of appeal decisions regarding the scope of the Act: Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Brookfield Crystal Cove LLC (2013) 219 Cal.App.4th 98 and Burch v. Superior Court [(2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 1411. Those cases held that the Act is not the exclusive remedy for construction defect lawsuits that allege property damage arising from new residential construction. Therefore owners of new residential construction where construction defects had caused property damage were not required to proceed under the Act and instead could proceed with common law claims. McMillilin removes that option. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Mark Johnson, Snell & Wilmer
Mr. Johnson may be contacted at majohnson@swlaw.com

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The Real Estate Crisis in North Dakota's Man Camps

October 02, 2015 — Jennifer Oldham – Bloomberg
Chain saws and staple guns echo across a $40 million residential complex under construction in Williston, North Dakota, a few miles from almost-empty camps once filled with oil workers. After struggling to house thousands of migrant roughnecks during the boom, the state faces a new real-estate crisis: The frenzied drilling that made it No. 1 in personal-income growth and job creation for five consecutive years hasn’t lasted long enough to support the oil-fueled building explosion. Civic leaders and developers say many new units were already in the pipeline, and they anticipate another influx of workers when oil prices rise again. But for now, hundreds of dwellings approved during the heady days are rising, skeletons of wood and cement surrounded by rolling grasslands, with too few residents who can afford them. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jennifer Oldham, Bloomberg

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How New York City Plans to Soak Up the Rain

May 02, 2022 — Linda Poon - Bloomberg
When the remnants of Hurricane Ida pummeled New York City with more than 3 inches of rain in just one hour, the city struggled to soak it up. Instead, streets and subways flooded as storm drains were overwhelmed, basement apartments were inundated, and more than a dozen people died. That September 2021 storm and the ones before it, including a cloudburst downpour during Tropical Storm Elsa in July, have forced New York to take a hard look at becoming a “spongier” city — one that combines nature-based green infrastructure like street-side rain gardens with gray infrastructure like storm drains to divert or absorb water and prevent catastrophic flooding. “New York City is preparing for both chronic storm events — these cloudburst events that we see occurring more and more frequently — as well as extreme storm events like Ida,” says Jennifer Cherrier, a professor of earth and environmental sciences at Brooklyn College. On top of that, the city also faces mounting risks from storm surges, like during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Linda Poon, Bloomberg

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Miami Building Boom Spreads Into Downtown’s Tent City

October 29, 2014 — Nadja Brandt – Bloomberg
A building boom that transformed Miami into a destination for the global elite left out the city core, better known for its empty lots filled at night with tents for the homeless. Now the area awaits a $2 billion face lift. Worldcenter, a 27-acre (11-hectare) development that languished for almost a decade, won city approval last month and is slated to break ground next year near Miami’s business district. The project will include almost 1,000 luxury condominiums and apartments, a Marriott Marquis hotel with convention space, and stores such as Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. Developers CIM Group, Falcone Group and Centurion Partners are seeking to breathe life into a neighborhood often referred to as the “hole in the doughnut,” an area of blight and weedy lots surrounded by luxury properties that are attracting South American, European and Asian buyers. Its revival reflects both the strong investor demand in Miami and a national trend toward a mix of real estate in an urban center catering to people who want to live, work and play in close proximity. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Nadja Brandt, Bloomberg
Ms. Brandt may be contacted at nbrandt@bloomberg.net

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Partner Lisa M. Rolle and Associate Vito John Marzano Obtain Dismissal of Third-Party Indemnification Claims

December 22, 2019 — Lisa M. Rolle & Vito John Marzano - Traub Lieberman Perspectives
On June 1, 2019, Traub Lieberman partner Lisa M. Rolle and associate Vito John Marzano successfully secured dismissal of all third-party claims on behalf of a corporate entity and its principal in a third-party action in the New York State Supreme Court, County of Bronx. The underlying action concerned a trip and fall that occurred on a public sidewalk located in the Bronx. Plaintiff commenced suit against the corporation property owner and its principal. Defendants/third-party plaintiffs commenced the third-party action seeking contractual and common-law indemnification against three third-party defendants, the corporate tenant, another corporate entity that was not a party to the lease and its principal. Traub Lieberman represented the latter two third-party defendants. On behalf of the corporate entity that was not a party to the lease, Traub Lieberman moved for dismissal on the basis that the lease constitutes documentary evidence establishing as a matter of law that the non-tenant corporation cannot be held liable to third-party plaintiffs. On behalf of the principal, Traub Lieberman sought dismissal for failure to state a cause of action because the principal was shielded from liability by virtue of having incorporated his business, and the complaint did not allege a claim for piercing the corporate veil. In opposition, third-party plaintiffs sought to amplify their pleadings by alleging that a de facto merger had occurred between the non-tenant corporation and the tenant corporation. Third-party plaintiffs further argued that the corporate principal executed a guaranty to the lease, thus accepting liability on behalf of the tenant corporation. Reprinted courtesy of Lisa M. Rolle, Traub Lieberman and Vito John Marzano, Traub Lieberman Ms. Rolle may be contacted at lrolle@tlsslaw.com Mr. Marzano may be contacted at vmarzano@tlsslaw.com Read the court decision
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New Jersey Supreme Court Ruled Condo Association Can’t Reset Clock on Construction Defect Claim

September 20, 2017 — David Suggs – Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc.
The New Jersey Law Journal reported that New Jersey Supreme Court “justices reversed an Appellate Division ruling that found three suits filed against contractors by the Palisades at Fort Lee Condominium Association on various dates in March and April 2009 and September 2010 were within the six-year limit because the association received notice of construction defects in the building in an engineer's report issued in June 2007.” The justices stated that the statute of limitations is not reset when property changes hands: "An owner of a building cannot convey greater property rights to a purchaser than the owner possessed. If the building's owner knew or reasonably should have known of construction defects at the time of the sale of the property, the purchaser takes title subject to the original owner's right—and any limitation on that right—to file a claim against the architect and contractors." Read the court decision
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