Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

Would You Trade a Parking Spot for an Extra Bedroom?

August 23, 2021 — Virginia Postrel - Bloomberg
A bill wending its way through the California Legislature could suddenly make a lot more new housing economically feasible. Known as AB 1401, the legislation would abolish local parking requirements for new residential and commercial developments near bus or train stops. It applies to counties with more than 600,000 residents and cities with more than 75,000 people. The bill does not prohibit or restrict parking. It merely deregulates it, allowing developers to decide what works best for a given project. It opens up the possibility, for example, of providing parking in an off-site garage or lot. It permits tandem parking to save space or subsidized shared ride services. It doesn’t prescribe a one-size-fits-all solution to how buildings can best serve the people who use them, and it allows flexibility as transportation options evolve. Most homeowners and tenants want some sort of parking, but local mandates can be extreme — and extremely expensive. Twenty-one California towns even require more than three parking places for a three-bedroom single-family home. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Virginia Postrel, Bloomberg

Barratt Said to Suspend Staff as Contract Probe Continues

February 02, 2017 — Jack Sidders - Bloomberg
Barratt Developments Plc suspended at least three more employees within its London business as part of an ongoing probe into potential misconduct in the awarding of contracts, according to two people familiar with the decision. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jack Sidders, Bloomberg
Mr. Sidders may be followed on Twitter @jacksidders

A New Study on Implementing Digital Visual Management

July 31, 2024 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
A new paper, “Implementing Digital Visual Management: A Case Study on Challenges and Barriers,” discusses situational management in complex infrastructure projects. It’s worth reading for anyone interested in improving project management with digital tools. A complex infrastructure project The authors interviewed nine project management professionals who worked for the client on constructing the western part of the Metro in Helsinki and Espoo, Finland. The project lasted eight years and had a budget of 1,200 million euros. The project used a Digital Visual Management (DVM) tool, and the paper discusses the challenges and barriers faced during the tool’s implementation. At the time of the study, the system was used to manage the final documentation and testing status. KPI management The project management team was involved in developing a system for combining collected data into a central dashboard and using it to manage the whole project. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

Failing to Pay Prevailing Wages May Have Just Cost You More Than You Thought

April 01, 2015 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
Mechanics lien claims, payment bond claims, stop payment notice claims, delay claims, defect claims, abandonment claims . . . With the variety of claims unique to construction projects it’s easy to forget that construction disputes are simply a category of business disputes in which broader business-related torts apply. In Roy Allan Slurry Seal, Inc. v. American Asphalt South, Inc., Case No. B255558 (February 20, 2015), the California Court of Appeal for the Second District held for the first time that a second-place bidder on a public works contract may sue a winning bidder – who failed to pay its workers prevailing wages – under the business tort of intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. 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

Cuomo Proposes $1.7 Billion Property-Tax Break for New York

January 14, 2015 — Freeman Klopott – Bloomberg
Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to give middle-class New Yorkers a $1.7 billion break on property taxes. The plan announced at Hofstra University on Long Island today would provide credits to more than 1 million homeowners and another 1 million renters. The plan, which will be included in Cuomo’s proposed budget next week, builds on his effort to control what he says are the nation’s highest property levies. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Freeman Klopott, Bloomberg
Mr. Klopott may be contacted at fklopott@bloomberg.net

Protect Against Design Errors With Owners Protective Professional Indemnity Coverage

March 14, 2018 — Joseph Nawa – New Day Underwriting Managers, LLC
Prior to the devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, the AIA Consensus Construction Forecast had predicted “slower growth for the construction industry for the remainder of 2017 and through 2018.” But, given the hundreds of billions of dollars in damages caused by these horrific events, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, estimates a lift to the economy through the rebuilding of these areas. This, of course, is dependent on insurer funds and the amount of aid offered through government sources. Nonetheless, the process will be costly, timely and exhaustive. Under such circumstances, speed is a necessity. In addition to being drawn into the earliest stages of the project development cycle, the services of construction professionals have merged so intensely that even their “consultative advice” have produced exposures in “collaborative” environments rife with liability. A challenge for contractors in today’s design/build marketplace is securing professional liability insurance policies that will not only manage the risks associated with their own errors and omissions, but also the problems caused by designers and others contracted to work on the project. However, this too is not very easy. Such policies when purchased by contractors can be exceedingly cost prohibitive. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Joseph Nawa, Construction Executive, a Publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All Rights Reserved
Mr. Nawa may be contacted at joseph.nawa@newdayunderwriting.com

Coverage for Faulty Workmanship Denied

September 07, 2020 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The court found that the insurer had no duty to defend claims against the insured for faulty workmanship. HT Services, LLC v. Western Heritage Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123664 (D. Colo. July 10, 2020). Western Heritage Insurance Company issued three concurrent general liability policies to HT Services, LLC. The policies insured two properties owned by HT in Colorado Springs, its offices and vacant land. HT eventually developed a residential community on the vacant land. In January 2016, the homeowners' association filed suit against HT for negligent design and construction of a retaining wall at the project. HT requested Western to defend and indemnify against the suit. Western denied coverage and HT sued. HT asserted that Western had a duty to defend and asserted claims for declaratory relief, breach of contract and bad faith. HT moved for partial summary judgment on its claims for declaratory relief, seeking a determination of its rights under the policies. Western moved for summary judgment on all of HT's claims. 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

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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