Columbus Ohio Building Expert Directory

First Quarter Gains in Housing Affordability

May 20, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Eye on Housing, the combination of low interest rates and home prices has provided a “solid boost in nationwide affordability in the first quarter of 2015.” Furthermore, “66.5 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of January and end of March were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $65,800.” Syracuse, New York remained the U.S.’s most affordable major housing market, while the San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California region was the nation’s least affordable major housing market. All five of the least affordable small housing markets were in California. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Canadian Developer Faces Charges After Massive Fire on Construction Site

August 27, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
A fire leveled an apartment construction site in Canada last December, which resulted in almost two dozen charges relating to fire safety precautions and lack of cooperation with the Ministry of Labour’s investigation, according to CKWS TV. The Ministry of Labour has recently “laid 22 charges against three individuals and two companies—Jay Patry Enterprises Inc. and Steimach Property Management Inc.” CKWS TV reported that “[c]harges include failing to provide adequate space for workers to evacuate during an emergency, failing to protect the health and safety of workers and failing to inspect every fire extinguisher for defects or deterioration.” Jason Patry, Nathan Patry and Troy Stelmach have been charged with “obstructing and providing false information to a ministry of labour inspector, as well as failing to make the inspection process an easy one.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

How Many Bridges Does the Chesapeake Bay Need?

August 03, 2022 — Ethan McLeod - Bloomberg
Steve Kline, a 7th-generation Marylander, knows well the vacation tradition of driving across the twin spans of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for trips to the beach resort of Ocean City. His grandfather, an ironworker, helped build the bridge’s first span, which opened in 1952. He’s also very familiar with another seasonal rite: wading through the infamous miles-long traffic backups that last from Memorial Day through the end of summer. But Kline, president of the nonprofit Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, is not on board with the state’s proposed multibillion-dollar fix — a new 4.3-mile-long crossing, to be built alongside the two current spans of the Bay Bridge. In April, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) announced it had received federal approval to use this route for a potential new, wider bridge that would be likely to eventually replace its older siblings, addressing the notorious summer bottlenecks for decades to come. And on June 10, at a press conference held near the bridge’s eastbound ramp, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that he would commit $28 million in bridge toll revenue to fund the second phase of an environmental impact study on the idea. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Ethan McLeod, Bloomberg

Public Contract Code Section 1104 Does Not Apply to Claims of Implied Breach of Warranty of Correctness of Plans and Specifications

October 30, 2023 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
It’s the classic tale of two cities. One city is occupied by architects and engineers. The other, by contractors. And while the cities typically co-exist relatively peacefully together, at times, they do not, such as when a defect arises that can either be a design or construction defect. Sometimes, project owners are pulled into these fights as well. There is a common law rule that when contracting with a contractor the owner impliedly warrants to the contractor that the plans and specifications are sufficiently accurate and correct. And, if you work on local public works projects, you may be familiar with Public Contract Code section 1104 which provides that, with the exception of design-build projects, local public entities cannot require a bidder to assume responsibility for the completeness and accuracy of architectural or engineering plans and specifications. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Top Developments March 2024

April 22, 2024 — Complex Insurance Coverage Reporter
CLAIMS-MADE COVERAGE Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Syngenta Crop Prot. LLC, 2024 Del. LEXIS 68 (Del. Feb. 26, 2024) Delaware Supreme Court concludes that a letter from a lawyer informing an insured of possible lawsuits without identifying potential plaintiffs or demanding payment is not a “claim for damages” within the meaning of claims-made CGL and umbrella liability policies. Citing case law from Delaware and other jurisdictions, it reasoned that, in the ordinary sense, a “claim for damages” (which the policies did not define) is “a demand or request for monetary relief by or on behalf of an identifiable claimant.” According to the court, the letter in question did not meet this definition because it did not identify any claimants “except in the vaguest terms” or request monetary relief on any claimant’s behalf, but rather communicated only a threat of future litigation. As a result, the letter was not a claim made before the policy periods at issue. POLLUTION EXCLUSION Wesco Ins. Co. v. Brad Ingram Constr., 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 1488 (9th Cir. Jan. 23, 2024) A divided Ninth Circuit panel, applying California law, holds that a pollution exclusion* in a CGL policy does not preclude a duty to defend an underlying suit alleging physical injury from exposure to “clouds of toxic dust” deposited in the environment by a wildfire and released during clean up efforts. Citing MacKinnon v. Truck Ins. Exch., 73 P.3d 1205 (Cal. 2003), the majority explained that determining whether a “pollution event” (i.e., “environmental pollution”) resulting in excluded injury has occurred involves consideration of “the character of the injurious substance” and whether the exposure resulted from a “mechanism specified in the policy.” It concluded that a potential for coverage (and, therefore, a defense obligation) existed because, although wildfire debris may be considered a “pollutant” in certain circumstances, the mechanism alleged in the underlying complaint – “expos[ure] . . . to clouds of toxic dust during the loading and unloading of [the underlying plaintiff’s] truck” – did not clearly constitute an “event commonly thought of as pollution.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of White and Williams LLP

Los Angeles Recovery Crews Begin to Mobilize as Wildfires Continue to Burn

January 21, 2025 — Scott Blair, Aileen Cho, & C.J. Schexnayder - Engineering News-Record
More than a week since wildfires broke out in the Los Angeles area stoked by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, officials are hoping that a change in the weather will soon allow the long process of recovery to begin. Reprinted courtesy of Scott Blair, ENR, Aileen Cho, ENR and C.J. Schexnayder, ENR Mr. Blair may be contacted at blairs@enr.com Ms. Cho may be contacted at choa@enr.com Mr. Schexnayder may be contacted at schexnayderc@enr.com Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

New York Appellate Division Reverses Denial of Landlord’s Additional Insured Tender

December 07, 2020 — Eric D. Suben - Traub Lieberman
In Wesco Insurance Co. v. Travelers Property & Cas. Co. of America, 2020 WL 6572489 (1st Dep’t Nov. 10, 2020), the New York Appellate Division found that a commercial landlord was owed additional insured coverage in connection with an incident in which a plaintiff slipped and fell on the sidewalk while exiting the leased premises. The tenant, Capital One, was the named insured in a CGL policy issued by Travelers. The policy added the landlord as an additional insured, but “only with respect to liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of that part of the premises leased to [Capital One] and shown in the Schedule.” The lease defined the demised premises to include the building and “all appurtenances.” Travelers denied the landlord’s tender on the basis that the sidewalk did not constitute “that part of the premises leased to” Capital One. In the ensuing declaratory judgment action brought by Wesco (the landlord’s insurer), the court granted Travelers’ motion for summary judgment on this ground. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Eric D. Suben, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Suben may be contacted at esuben@tlsslaw.com

Bridges Crumble as Muni Rates at Least Since ’60s Ignored

June 26, 2014 — William Selway and Brian Chappatta – Bloomberg
No state is needier than West Virginia when it comes to fixing crumbling highways, airports and water works, with annual repair needs of $1,035 per resident that’s three times the national average. Yet even with borrowing costs hovering close to four-decade lows, lawmakers rejected a January proposal to sell $1 billion of bonds to repair roads that run through the Appalachian Mountains. Budget cuts were a more immediate concern, they said. Across the U.S., localities are refraining from raising new funds in the $3.7 trillion municipal-bond market after the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression left them with unprecedented deficits. Rather than take advantage of Federal Reserve (FDTR) policy that’s held benchmark interest rates at historic lows since December 2008, they’re repaying obligations by the most on record. Mr. Selway may be contacted at wselway@bloomberg.net; Mr. Chappatta may be contacted at bchappatta1@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of William Selway and Brian Chappatta, Bloomberg

COLUMBUS OHIO BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES