Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Trump Soho May Abandon Condos to Operate Mainly as Hotel

January 28, 2015 — Nadja Brandt – Bloomberg
Lower Manhattan’s Trump Soho, the five-year-old tower that was seized in a foreclosure amid slow sales of its condominiums, may drop its focus on part-time residences and operate most of the property solely as a hotel. The building’s new owner, Los Angeles-based CIM Group, is “stepping away” from marketing the roughly two-thirds of condos that remain unsold, said Gary Schweikert, the building’s managing director. The company is considering converting the unsold units at the tower permanently into hotel rooms, he said. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Nadja Brandt, Bloomberg
Ms. Brandt may be contacted at nbrandt@bloomberg.net

20 Wilke Fleury Attorneys Featured in Sacramento Magazine 2020 Top Lawyers!

August 24, 2020 — Wilke Fleury
Congratulations to Wilke Fleury’s featured attorneys who made the Sacramento Magazine’s Top Lawyer List for 2020! Each attorney has been awarded an accolade in the following practice areas: Kathryne Baldwin – Insurance Dan Baxter – Business Litigation & Government Contracts Adriana Cervantes – Medical Malpractice Heather Claus – Health Care Aaron Claxton – Health Care Dan Egan – Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Samson Elsbernd – Employment & Labor Danny Foster – Litigation Insurance David Frenznick – Construction & Construction Litigation George Guthrie – Real Estate & Construction Litigation Ron Lamb – Medical Malpractice Neal Lutterman – Medical Malpractice Steve Marmaduke – Business/Corporate & Real Estate Gene Pendergast – Estate Planning & Probate Mike Polis – Health Care Matthew Powell – Business Litigation Bianca Samuel – Employment & Labor Shannon Smith-Crowley – Legislative & Governmental Affairs Spencer Turpen – Medical Malpractice Steve Williamson – Business Litigation & Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Wilke Fleury

No Coverage For Construction Defect Under Illinois Law

January 28, 2015 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
The court followed precedent in Illinois and upheld the insurer's denial of coverage for construction defects that did not damage other property. Design Concrete Founds., Inc. v. Erie Ins. Prop. & Cas. Co., 2014 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2684 (Ill Ct. App. Nov. 26, 2014). In 2005, the homeowners contracted with the general contractor to build a home. The general contractor hired Design to do the foundation work. Design performed its work in August 2005. After the work was completed, cracks formed in the foundation, allowing water to enter the basement and an inward shifting of the foundation. The homeowners sued the general contractor and Design. The complaint alleged that Design failed to build the foundation in a workmanlike manner, resulting in the development of cracks in the foundation. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Washington State May Allow Common Negligence Claims against Construction Professionals

November 20, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Lane Powell, a law firm with offices in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and London has issued a construction law update on a recent decision of the Washington Supreme Court. The case involved a development firm that sued its engineering firm. The developer had gained preliminary approval to develop two short plats, and after the approvals expired, sought the assistance of the engineering firm in regaining approval. Eventually, the developer lost the plats to foreclosure and sued the engineering firm. The Washington Supreme Court rejected most of the developer’s claims in the case, but sent the negligence claims back to the trial court. The Lane Powell construction law update notes that “the record didn’t adequately establish the scope of the professional obligations incorporated into the contract, the court refused to determine if any of the engineer’s duties to the plaintiffs arose independently of the contract.” Read the court decision
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Hunton Andrews Kurth Promotes Insurance Recovery Lawyer Andrea (Andi) DeField to Partner

April 05, 2021 — Lorelie S. Masters - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Effective April 1, 2021, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP has promoted insurance recovery lawyer, Andi DeField, and six other attorneys, to partner. “Andi has been a superstar in our practice since the day she arrived,” said insurance recovery practice head, Walter Andrews, adding that “Andi’s promotion reflects the incredible hard work she has contributed to the practice and outstanding results she has achieved for our clients over the years.” A native of Miami, Andi ascended through the ranks at Hunton in its Miami office, joining the firm as a contract lawyer before earning promotions to associate, counsel and, now, partner. But Andi’s rapid ascension did not come without much hard work. Since joining the firm, “Andi has, year after year, consistently knocked the cover off the ball in terms of her tireless work ethic, the superior results she has achieved and her extraordinary aptitude for marketing herself, our practice and the firms many other practices,” said insurance recovery partner, Mike Levine. Levine added, “Andi is an amazing lawyer and a true champion for her clients. I’m proud to now call her my partner.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Lorelie S. Masters, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Ms. Masters may be contacted at lmasters@HuntonAK.com

Blog Completes Fifteenth Year

December 13, 2022 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Insurance Law Hawaii completes its fifteenth year of existence this month. We began posting in December 2007, 1656 posts ago. We strive to keep readers abreast of new developments in insurance-related cases from Hawaii and across the country. Coverage issues in the past year have again been dominated by COVID-19, business interruption, construction defect, and cyber claims. This trend will likely continue over the next year and we will do our best to track developments. Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Picketing Threats

July 09, 2019 — Jerry Morales - Snell & Wilmer Under Construction
Letters from unions to owners, general contractors and other contractors informing them of the union’s dispute with one or more of the subcontractors, working at a common construction project site (or common situs), and of the union’s plans to engage in “public informational campaigns” at the site, in furtherance of the dispute, may constitute unlawful threats of secondary boycott. Unions often send letters to various employers that share a common construction project site, informing them that the union has a dispute with one or more of the subcontractors working or scheduled to work at the same site. In labor law, the employers that do not have a dispute with the union are referred to as “neutral employers,” in contrast with the employers with which the union has the dispute, referred to as “primary employers.” In the letters, the unions typically describe the reason for the labor dispute (e.g., alleged failure to pay “area standards”), request that the neutrals use their “managerial discretion” not to allow the primary employers to perform work at the project site until the dispute is resolved, and inform that the union will engage in public information campaigns against the primary employer at the common situs. The “public information campaign” is described in the union’s letter as including banner displays, distribution of handbills, picketing and other demonstration activity. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jerry Morales, Snell & Wilmer
Mr. Morales may be contacted at jmorales@swlaw.com

Caterpillar Said to Be Focus of Senate Overseas Tax Probe

March 26, 2014 — Richard Rubin and Jesse Drucker - Bloomberg
A U.S. Senate investigative panel is examining Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and whether the company improperly avoided U.S. taxes by moving profits outside the country, said three people familiar with the inquiry. The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a hearing in early April, said two of the people. They spoke on condition of anonymity before an official announcement. Rachel Potts, a spokeswoman for Caterpillar, declined to comment. Two staff members for the subcommittee declined to comment. In 2009, Daniel Schlicksup, an employee who had worked on tax strategy, alleged in a lawsuit in federal court that Caterpillar used a “Swiss structure” to shift profits to offshore companies and avoid more than $2 billion in U.S. taxes. He also alleged that Caterpillar used a “Bermuda structure” involving shell companies to return profits to the U.S. without paying required taxes. Mr. Rubin may be contacted at rrubin12@bloomberg.net; Mr. Drucker may be contacted at jdrucker4@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Richard Rubin and Jesse Drucker, Bloomberg

SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES