Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Construction Litigation Roundup: “You May Want an Intervention …”

June 10, 2024 — Daniel Lund III - Lexology
You may want an intervention … but you are not getting one! So said a federal court in New Orleans to a masonry supplier seeking to intervene in in an upstream subcontractor’s lawsuit against a payment bond surety for allegedly unpaid subcontract sums. It all seems so obvious: the masonry supplier indicates it is unpaid, and the subcontractor to which it supplied materials is saying the same thing and pursuing monies from the general contractor’s surety. Eventually, if the subcontractor prevails against the surety, monies ought to flow to the supplier – a set of facts lending itself to an intervention. The federal district court disagreed, however. Referring to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a)(2) and prior United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals case law the topic, the court opined that the masonry supplier lacked an interest in the subcontractor’s potential recovery that was “related to the property or transaction that forms the basis of the controversy…an interest that is ‘direct, substantial, [and] legally protectable.’" Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Lund III, Phelps
Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com

Morrison Bridge Allegedly Crumbling

February 05, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The Portland Mercury reported that the Portland, Oregon Morrison Bridge’s structure is breaking into pieces. "The bridge is crumbling," Joel Mullin, attorney from Stoel Rives representing the county told a Multnomah County judge, according to the Portland Mercury. "The deterioration has accelerated more than anticipated." Newly released documents seem to imply that the bridge “project was doomed well before it started, and county officials should have known it,” the Portland Mercury reported. Read the court decision
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Search in Florida Collapse to Take Weeks; Deaths Reach 90

July 25, 2021 — The Associated Press (Freida Frisaro & Bobby Caina Calvan) - Bloomberg
Authorities searching for victims of a deadly collapse in Florida said Sunday they hope to conclude their painstaking work in the coming weeks as a team of first responders from Israel departed the site. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 90 deaths have now been confirmed in last month's collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, up from 86 a day before. Among them are 71 bodies that have been identified, and their families have been notified, she said. Some 31 people remain listed as missing. The Miami-Dade Police Department said three young children were among those recently identified. Crews continued to search the remaining pile of rubble, peeling layer after layer of debris in search of bodies. The unrelenting search has resulted in the recovery of over 14 million pounds (about 6.4 million kilograms) of concrete and debris, Levine Cava said. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Bloomberg

Illinois Lawmakers Approve Carpenters Union's Legislation to Help Ensure Workers Are Paid What They're Owed

April 19, 2022 — Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council
CHICAGO — Workers around the state have new protections to help ensure they are paid what's owed to them under new legislation that passed the Illinois General Assembly last week. HB5412 makes a primary contractor liable for the failure of a subcontractor to pay wages owed to its workers. The subcontractor would in turn be required to compensate the primary contractor for any wages, damages, interest, penalties or attorneys' fees as a result of the subcontractor's failure to pay wages. "All of us in the Carpenters Union are thrilled to see the Legislature take action on this landmark legislation," said Gary Perinar, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council. "We have been leading the fight against worker exploitation in every state, and Illinois is showing that hardworking men and women are valued and protected here. When workers are getting ripped off and not paid what they are owed, that should outrage every single person on a job site. I thank Senate President Don Harmon, Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Leader Evans, and Senator Castro for their unwavering commitment throughout this process to support working families." About the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council The Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council represents over 52,000 working men and women across 324 counties in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Eastern Iowa. The Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council provides the construction and maintenance industries with productive, competitive and certified professionals, encompassing a wide variety of crafts and skills. Read the court decision
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That’s What I have Insurance For, Right?

December 31, 2014 — Craig Martin – Construction Contractor Advisor
Ah, the age old question, What does my insurance really cover? A federal court in Georgia recently weighed in on this issue in Standard Contractors, Inc. v. National Trust Insurance Company, and ruled that a contractor’s commercial general liability insurer did not have to pay for damage caused by a subcontractor. Standard Contractors was hired to renovate the pool on an army base. Standard hired a subcontractor to for design and installation work. The subcontractor’s work was subpar in that the subcontractor omitted a number of parts, installed the wrong parts, and caused more than $400,000 in damage to the pool. Standard submitted a claim to its insurer seeking coverage for the loss under its commercial general liability policy. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Craig Martin, Lamson, Dugan and Murray, LLP
Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@ldmlaw.com

Haight Expands California Reach – Opens Office in Sacramento

October 21, 2015 — Haight Brown & Bonesteel, LLP
Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP is excited to announce that the firm has opened an office in Sacramento with the addition of two new attorneys – Elizabeth W. Lawley has joined as Managing Partner for the Sacramento office and Gino Cano as Senior Counsel. Lawley and Cano bring their thriving practices to Haight with expertise in construction law and general liability matters. With the addition of Sacramento, Haight now has six offices throughout the State of California. Our footprint and ability to provide exceptional service is greatly expanded. Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP 2485 Natomas Park Drive Suite 450 Sacramento, CA 95833 www.hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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Compliance with Contractual and Jurisdictional Pre-Suit Requirements is Essential to Maximizing Recovery

November 27, 2023 — Michael S. Levine, Geoffrey B. Fehling & Charlotte Leszinske - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Timely notice is an important first step in a successful insurance recovery. But insurance policies are not always straightforward in identifying how, when, and to whom notice must be provided. Some states may also impose additional procedural hurdles, including requiring policyholders to contact their insurers before filing suit (the idea behind this requirement is that it may avoid litigation). Failing to comply with pre-suit requirements can hurt the policyholder’s recovery, as illustrated in a recent decision from the Northern District of Texas. In NewcrestImage Holdings, LLC v. The Travelers Lloyds Insurance Company, No. 2:23-cv-039-BR (N.D. Tex. Oct. 17, 2023), the court considered whether NewcrestImage had forfeited its right to recover attorneys’ fees by failing to give Travelers pre-suit notice. NewcrestImage had filed suit against Travelers to obtain coverage for damage to its hotel property arising out of Winter Storm Uri. In its answer, Travelers asserted that NewcrestImage failed to provide the insurer with pre-suit notice as required under the Texas Insurance Code, and that if NewcrestImage successfully proved it was entitled to coverage, NewcrestImage’s failure to provide pre-suit notice precluded it from recovering attorneys’ fees. Travelers later moved to strike the claim for attorneys’ fees on that basis. Reprinted courtesy of Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Geoffrey B. Fehling, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Charlotte Leszinske, Hunton Andrews Kurth Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com Mr. Fehling may be contacted at gfehling@HuntonAK.com Ms. Leszinske may be contacted at cleszinske@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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How the Pandemic Pushed the Construction Industry Five Years Into the Future

September 06, 2021 — Alexandra McManus & Hussein Cholkamy - Construction Executive
On any given day, there are a multitude of variables playing out on construction jobsites, from maintaining daily logs to track hundreds of workers to creating daily schedules to keep projects on track. What made an industry that’s arguably about 20 years in the past get a dramatic technology boost five years into the future? A global pandemic that nobody saw coming. When COVID-19 made its first appearance on construction sites in early 2020, the domino effect of project shutdowns and labor shortages created uncertainty along with budget and timeline nightmares. The pandemic shook up the industry, with many projects coming to a screeching halt. As general contractors scrambled to keep their projects moving and workers safe, technology proved to be the solution. With jobsites shutting down, coupled with a nationwide labor shortage, real-time visibility over workforce variables, such as who was on-site, where they were and who they interacted with was more important than ever. Safe proximity tracking, virtual density and access control technologies helped construction companies gain more control, visibility and the ability to deal with the ever-changing regulations due to the global pandemic. More importantly, it helped keep their valuable workforce safe. Reprinted courtesy of Alexandra McManus & Hussein Cholkamy, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Mr. Cholkamy may be contacted at hussein@eyrus.com Ms. McManus may be contacted at alex@eyrus.com Read the court decision
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CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES