Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

CGL Policies and the Professional Liabilities Exclusion

August 14, 2018 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Commercial general liability (CGL) policies for contractors traditionally contain a professional liabilities exclusion. This exclusion is generally added through a specific endorsement to eliminate coverage for professional services. Read the endorsement The point of the exclusion, in a nutshell, is simply to eliminate a CGL policy for a contractor serving as a professional liability policy. Contractors need to appreciate a professional liabilities exclusion added through endorsement because oftentimes there are delegated design components they are responsible for. Perhaps the contractor value engineered a system and is responsible for engineering and signing and sealing the engineered documents (through its subcontractor) associated with that system. Perhaps there is a performance specification that requires the contractor to engineer a system. Perhaps there is a design-build component. Regardless of the circumstance, this professional liabilities exclusion can certainly come into play, particularly if a defect is raised with the design or professional services associated with the engineered system. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Third Circuit Holds That Duty to Indemnify "Follows" Duty to Defend

December 27, 2021 — Jeffrey J. Vita - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
In a win for policyholders, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a District Court’s 2018 ruling, which held that the duty to indemnify follows the duty to defend where a settlement precludes a determination on the facts of the case relative to liability and apportionment. In Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Penn National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co.,1 a large concrete panel collapsed and killed a construction worker at a construction site in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Cost Company (“Cost”), Liberty Mutual’s insured, was a masonry subcontractor on the project and had further subcontracted with Pittsburgh Flexicore Co. (“Flexicore”), Penn National’s insured, for the concrete panels. Cost’s subcontract agreement required Flexicore to name Cost as an additional insured under its general liability policy issued by Penn National. When the construction worker’s widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Cost and Flexicore, Cost demanded that Penn National defend and indemnify it as an additional insured under the policy. Penn National refused, arguing that any additional insured status had terminated at the conclusion of Flexicore’s work for Cost. As a result, Liberty Mutual defended Cost in the lawsuit, which was ultimately settled. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jeffrey J. Vita, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Mr. Vita may be contacted at JVita@sdvlaw.com

Hanover, Germany Apple Store Delayed by Construction Defects

July 23, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
A new Apple store in Hanover, Germany is scheduled to finally open in September after construction problems created delays, according to AppAdvice. Rumor has it that the store may open on September 19th, the same day of the iPhone 6 is expected to go on sale globally. Construction issues included “physical defects, mold, and ventilation issues,” according to AppAdvice. “Black barricades appeared around the Hanover store location in April 2013.” Read the court decision
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Residential Building Sector: Peaking or Soaring?

October 01, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Forbes notes that residential builders and remodelers are one of the fastest-growing groups of privately held companies, but is that growth going to continue? Tim McPeak, an analyst at Sageworks, said, “aside from the strong sales growth, these companies have a relatively healthy 4.6% net profit margin.” Another analyst, Scott Cresswell of The Bonadio Group, said that his “clients who do multifamily are exponentially off the charts with new work. Cresswell also noted that firms in the Northeast are also experiences labor shortages, particularly with wood-frame construction, since, “there are not a lot of carpenters out there.” As a result of the new construction, some workers are more money from overtime. A further hike in interest rates may stop this growth. Mr. McPeak noted that “the expectation of everyone is we’re going to see rates rise.” Read the court decision
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Congress to be Discussing Housing

June 11, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to Housing Wire, several housing discussions will be taking place in Washington D. C. soon. Investors Unite on Solutions for U.S. Housing Policy hosts the first forum, which will be followed by a presentation by Joshua Rosner, author of Reckless Endangerment. Rosner will speak on “how to move forward on housing reform and what are the consequences of getting housing reform wrong.” Furthermore, “he will critique the recent efforts in Congress to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” Read the court decision
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Construction is the Fastest Growing Industry in California

May 20, 2015 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
We wrote earlier about why construction workers are the happiest employees on Earth, and pointed to one possible factor: That construction, which was one of the hardest hit industries during the 2008 real estate collapse, has since bounced back. This past month, the California Employment Development Department (“EDD”) released data putting some numbers to that hypothesis. And the result: According to the EDD, over the past 12 months, construction was the fastest growing industry in California, adding more than 46,000 jobs within the last year, an increase of 6.9% from 667,000 workers in March 2014 to 713,000 workers in March 2015. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

Vacation during a Project? Time for your Construction Documents to Shine!

October 09, 2023 — Melissa Dewey Brumback - Construction Law in North Carolina
Happy Lazy Day Everyone! What’s that? You didn’t know that August 10th is considered National Lazy Day? Well, it is. And it ties nicely in with today’s theme: how to take a vacation during the thick of the construction project. Everyone needs a break. You are no different. It can seem, however, that it is impossible to disconnect from the ongoing onslaught of questions, requests for information, change orders, pay applications, and the like. But you can. The key to taking–and enjoying–your vacation is to plan ahead. This is the time for your construction documents to shine. Make sure that your designs are on schedule; make sure that the change orders and RFIs have been processed so there is no backlog. And make sure that your second in command is familiar enough with the day to day details to step into your shoes for the duration. Then– be sure to give everyone notice. Is it any of their business that you are taking some time off? No. However, everyone procrastinates. So, if you give the entire team advance notice that you will be “off grid” starting on X date, they will be more inclined to get pending issues to you sooner rather than later. They won’t want to be stalled on progress, and with a heads up on when you are out of pocket, they will make it a priority to get requests to you ahead of your departure date. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale Liggett
Ms. Brumback may be contacted at mbrumback@rl-law.com

No Coverage for Alleged Misrepresentation Claim

January 23, 2023 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court found there was no coverage for a misrepresentation claim against the insured sellers of a residence. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co. v. Coyne, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186417 (E.D. Mo. Oct. 12, 2022). Aaron and Tobi Beckman purchased a home from Denise Coyne. The Bockmans alleged in the underlying suit that Coyne represented that the property had a "2-car garage." A disclosure statement signed by Coyne stated she had disclosed all conditions which might lower the value of the property or adversely affect the Bockman's decision to buy the property. After purchasing the property, the Bockmans learned that they could not fit their two vehicles in the attached garage. The Bockmans alleged that substantial remediation was necessary to expand the depth of the garage to fit two cars within it. The underlying suit alleged that Coyne had was engaged in fraud, misrepresentation and concealment by omitting material facts in connection with the sale of the home. Coyne allegedly engaged in negligent misrepresentation by failing to inform the Bockmans of the depth of the attached garage. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

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