Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Florida Federal Court to Examine Issues of Alleged Arbitrator Conflicts of Interests in Panama Canal Case

May 24, 2021 — Sarah B. Biser & Philip Z. Langer - ConsensusDocs
The parties in a $238-million dispute over the construction of the third set of locks for the Panama Canal are raising issues concerning alleged conflicts of interest on the part of the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”) arbitrators in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.[2] The case may address rarely litigated issues concerning whether arbitrators who sit on multiple arbitration panels together or who support appointment of each other to lead arbitration panels have disabling conflicts of interest. The case pits Grupo Unidos por el Canal, S.A. (“Grupo”), a consortium of Spanish, Italian, Belgian, and Panamanian construction firms, against Autoridad del Canal de Panama (“ACP”), the Panamanian entity that operates the Panama Canal and that sponsored the multi-billion-dollar, decade-long project to expand the Canal’s capacity by building a new set of locks (the “Project”). The current dispute (the “Panama 1 Arbitration”), which centers on the suitability of the rock coming from the excavations to be used to produce concrete aggregates for the Project, was arbitrated before a three-member ICC Tribunal and resulted in a $238-million award to ACP and against Grupo. The ICC Tribunal reversed a decision of the dispute review board established in the parties’ contract. Reprinted courtesy of Sarah B. Biser, Fox Rothschild LLP and Philip Z. Langer, Fox Rothschild LLP Ms. Biser may be contacted at sbiser@foxrothschild.com Mr. Langer may be contacted at planger@foxrothschild.com Read the court decision
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For Smart Home Technology, the Contract Is Key

June 07, 2021 — James W. McPhillips & Rachel Newell - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our previous post we discussed the importance of conducting a thorough due diligence and procurement process with smart technology providers. Next up? The contract. The price of a procured product is always important, but equally important are other contractual terms that reflect the commercial agreement. Ultimately, the contract should answer the fundamental question of “What are you buying?” The product itself is not the only feature being purchased. A customer is also buying certainty, service performance, risk mitigation, flexibility, security, compliance, and other similar “intangible” items of value. The Price of Certainty As part of the price, the purchaser of smart technology is also buying certainty. What do we mean by that? Reprinted courtesy of James W. McPhillips, Pillsbury and Rachel Newell, Pillsbury Mr. McPhillips may be contacted at james.mcphillips@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Newell may be contacted at rachel.newell@pillsburylaw.com Read the court decision
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New Report: Civil Engineering Salaries and Job Satisfaction Are Strong and Climbing at a Faster Rate Than Past Reports

October 16, 2023 — The American Society of Civil Engineers
RESTON, Va. – Civil engineering salaries continue to trend up and at a higher rate than recent years according to the 2023 ASCE Civil Engineering Salary Report today released by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which cites a median pre-tax income from all sources of $128,000. Base salaries have risen by approximately 7% from 2022 to 2023, up from approximately 6% from 2021 to 2022 and 5% from 2020 to 2021. The median primary income for those civil engineers with a Professional Engineers license was $132,000, nearly $30,000 more than those with no licenses or certifications. "The current workforce crisis has created a great demand for civil engineers that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states will continue for the next decade," said ASCE 2023 President Maria C. Lehman, P.E., ENV SP, NAC, F.ASCE. "When you consider the age and condition of much of our infrastructure, along with the additional funding being brought to bear, the demand will continue." The report also shows high job satisfaction and opportunities for career growth in 2023. Of the salary survey respondents, 66.3% reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their financial compensation, up from 63.3% in 2022. That number was even higher, though, when asked about overall job satisfaction: 86.7% said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. In a field that plays such a large role in giving back to and shaping communities, employees want to feel like their role is impactful and creating positive change for others. The ASCE Civil Engineering Salary Report is released every fall, collected from responses of Society members about their jobs and financial compensation. This year's report is derived from over 3,200 member responses. ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel. Read the court decision
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LA’s $1.2 Billion Graffiti Towers Put on Sale After Bankruptcy

June 04, 2024 — John Gittelsohn - Bloomberg
For sale: Steel skeletons of three towers in downtown Los Angeles, erected by a Chinese developer that spent $1.2 billion before running into financial troubles. The site, called Oceanwide Plaza, became famous this year when graffiti artists covered the 49-floor-tall structures. Now, the property is going on the market, with lenders and other creditors needing about $400 million to recoup their money. The brokerage Colliers and advisory firm Hilco Real Estate have been hired to market and handle a sale of the property, subject to bankruptcy court approval, according to a statement. “We are determined to run a disciplined and orderly process to identify the right developer to finish the project in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics,” said Mark Tarczynski, an executive vice president at Colliers. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of John Gittelsohn, Bloomberg

Hunton Offers Amicus Support in First Circuit Review of “Surface Water” Under Massachusetts Law

August 01, 2023 — Michael S. Levine, Lorelie S. Masters & Janine A. Hanrahan - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
Hunton’s insurance team has offered its support on behalf of amicus curie United Policyholders in a brief to the First Circuit concerning the meaning of “surface water” in the context of a broad, all-risk property insurance policy? This important question arose in a dispute between Medical Properties Trust (“MPT”), a real estate investment trust, and Zurich American Insurance Company (“Zurich”), its insurer, after water entered and destroyed Norwood Hospital. The water at issue entered the building after collecting on the surface of the building’s flat parapet roof. Zurich argued that because the water collected on the surface of the roof, the water met the meaning of the term “surface water,” as that term was used in the policy’s definition of “flood.” Flood coverage is subject to a $100 million sublimit, whereas the policy’s general limit is $750 million. Reprinted courtesy of Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Lorelie S. Masters, Hunton Andrews Kurth Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com Ms. Masters may be contacted at lmasters@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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Dynamics of Managing Professional Liability Claims for Design Builders

February 21, 2022 — Eric M. Clarkson - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Nearly half of America’s construction projects are now design-build in a continuing shift. As a result, contractors are taking on more professional liability (“PL”) risk than ever before, and the risk management landscape is changing. There are unique challenges to managing PL risks and claims. Specifically, PL coverage requires proactive claim management and project coordination. As a result, design-build projects should involve significant collaboration amongst all of the parties involved in the project. Claims Made Coverage Considerations PL policies typically provide three types of coverage:

Professional Liability covers defense and indemnity against claims arising out of acts or omissions of the insured in rendering a defined set of professional services –including construction management, project management, and design work in the design build context.

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Reprinted courtesy of Eric M. Clarkson, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Mr. Clarkson may be contacted at EClarkson@sdvlaw.com

Agree to Use your “Professional Best"? You may Lose Insurance Coverage! (Law Note)

March 01, 2017 — Melissa Dewey Brumback - Construction Law in North Carolina
Yesterday, I was part of a panel at the NC Bar Association Construction Law Winter Meeting, discussing insurance issues for design professionals. One topic we touched on was how to avoid invalidating your insurance. As most of you know, Errors & Omissions insurance (“E&O” coverage) is meant to provide coverage for mistakes you may make in performing your professional architecture or engineering services. E&O coverage is important to protect you in the event of a lawsuit because, as you know, no set of plans is perfect (nor is perfection the standard of care). Be careful, though. Do not promise to provide a higher standard of care than the “professional standard“. If you are asked to sign a contract that states you will use your “professional best,” “best efforts”, “highest care” or similar, you are being asked to sign something that could cost you your E&O coverage. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale Liggett PLLC
Ms. Brumback may be contacted at mbrumback@rl-law.com

Dispute Among Joint Venture Partners and Joint Venture Agreement

January 28, 2025 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
In a dispute involving joint venture partners and a joint venture agreement, one of the partners sued a third party (which purchased the assets of the other partner). Claims against the third party included tortious interference of the joint venture agreement between the partners, conspiracy to tortiously interfere with the joint venture agreement between the partners, aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty by the other partner, and conspiracy with the other partner to breach a fiduciary duty. The dispute was tried in a non-jury trial. The other partner and the third party prevailed. A few key points on the above claims asserted against the third party that failed:

Tortious interference of the contract -- Since the trial court found that the other partner did NOT breach the joint venture agreement, the cause of action for tortious interference failed. “No cause of action for tortious interference with a contract can exist in the absence of a breach.”
Conspiracy to tortiously interfere with a contract -- “If an underlying tort [e.g., tortious interference] has not been established, a count for conspiracy to commit that tort will not lie.”

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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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