Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Colorado House Bill 17-1279 – A Misguided Attempt at Construction Defect Reform

March 29, 2017 — David McClain - Colorado Construction Litigation
On March 17th, House Bill 17-1279, concerning the requirement that a unit owners’ association obtain approval through a vote of unit owners before filing a construction defect action, was introduced and assigned to the House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee. The bill is currently scheduled for its first committee hearing on March 29th, at 1:30 in the afternoon. While, on its face, this appears to be a step in the right direction towards instituting “informed consent” before an HOA can file a construction defect action, the bill actually restricts the ability of developer to include more stringent requirements in the declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions for an association, thereby lowing the threshold of “consent” required to institute an action. House Bill 17-1279 would amend C.R.S. § 38-33.3-303.5 to require an association’s executive board to mail or deliver written notice of the anticipated commencement of a construction defect action to each unit owner and to call a meeting of the unit owners to consider whether to bring such an action. Any construction professional against which a claim may attend the unit owners’ meeting and have an opportunity to address the unit owners and may include an offer to remedy any defect in accordance with C.R.S. § 13-20-803.5(3). The conclusion of the meeting would initiate a 120-day voting period, during which period the running of any applicable statutes of limitation or repose would be tolled. Pursuant to this bill, an executive board may only institute a construction defect action only if authorized by a simple majority of the unit owners, not including: 1) any unit owned by any construction professional, or affiliate of a construction professional, involved in the design, construction, or repair of any portion of the project; 2) any unit owned by a banking institution; 3) any unit owned in which no defects are alleged to exist, and/or 4) any unit owned by an individual deemed “nonresponsive.” Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David M. McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
Mr. McLain may be contacted at mclain@hhmrlaw.com

Honoring Veterans Under Our Roof & Across the World

November 15, 2017 — Newmeyer & Dillion, LLP
November 11, 2017 - In honor of Veterans Day, we would like to take time to acknowledge, honor and thank those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. We are also proud to recognize eleven of our own who have served our great country. Ben Ammerman – United States Navy Philip Kopp – United States Air Force Ryan Manning – United States Marine Corps Jason Morris – United States Marine Corps Tyson Nakagawa - United States Marine Corps Richard Protzmann - United States Marine Corps Francis Quinlan - United States Marine Corps Louis “Dutch” Schotemeyer - United States Marine Corps Christina Soto-Maynez – United States Army Michael Studenka - United States Marine Corps Paul Tetzloff - United States Marine Corps About Us For more than 30 years, Newmeyer & Dillion has delivered creative and outstanding legal solutions and trial results for a wide array of clients. With over 70 attorneys practicing in all aspects of business, employment, real estate, construction and insurance law, Newmeyer & Dillion delivers legal services tailored to meet each client’s needs. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with offices in Walnut Creek, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, Newmeyer & Dillion attorneys are recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©, and Super Lawyers as top tier and some of the best lawyers in California, and have been given Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review's AV Preeminent® highest rating. For additional information, call 949-854-7000 or visit www.ndlf.com. Read the court decision
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Charges in Kansas Water Park Death

March 28, 2018 — David Suggs - CDJ STAFF
Caleb Schwab, a 10-year old boy was killed by decapitation on a water slide at a Kansas City water park, Schlitterbahn in 2016. Thirteen other people had suffered injuries on the ride prior to Caleb’s death ranging in severity from broken toes to concussions. Schlitterbahn employees have since claimed that park officials covered up past occurrences of water slide injuries. Three people have been indicted in this case according to a CNN report by Marlena Baldacci, Sheena Jones and Hollie Silverman. Jeffrey Henry, the co-owner of the Schlitterbahn water park, Tyler Austin Miles, the park’s former director of operations and John Schooley. Charges include second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery and aggravated child endangerment. Caleb suffered a fatal injury when the raft that he and the two women who were riding with him became airborne and contacted the netting attached overhead. Investigators have found maintenance issues and ride design flaws that violate safety standards leading to lack of prevention of rafts becoming airborne during the ride. Caleb’s family will receive nearly $20 million in the settlement. Caleb’s father Scott, released a statement about placing full trust in the Attorney General Derek Schmidt who is presiding over the investigation and indictments. Read the court decision
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Homebuilders See Record Bearish Bets on Shaky Recovery

June 18, 2014 — Callie Bost – Bloomberg
Someone thinks the housing rebound is built on shaky foundations. A record 180,000 puts traded on the SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB) exchange-traded fund on June 11, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The contract with the highest ownership pays off in the event of a 20 percent slump by December in the ETF tracking stocks from DR Horton Inc. to Williams-Sonoma Inc. Prospects for rising interest rates and an uneven recovery in the housing market have hurt returns this year, sending the SPDR Homebuilders ETF down 3.3 percent. While economic data yesterday showed that builders broke ground on 1 million U.S. homes in May, permits, a proxy for future construction, decreased because of fewer applications for condominiums and apartment buildings. Read the court decision
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Ms. Bost may be contacted at cbost2@bloomberg.net

Lending Plunges to 17-Year Low as Rates Curtail Borrowing

April 15, 2014 — Kathleen M. Howley, Zachary Tracer and Heather Perlberg – Bloomberg
Wells Fargo (WFC) & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., the two largest U.S. mortgage lenders, reported a first-quarter plunge in loan volumes that’s part of an industry-wide drop off. Lenders made $226 billion of mortgages in the period, the smallest quarterly amount since 1997 and less than one-third of the 2006 average, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington. Lending has been tumbling since mid-2013 when mortgage rates jumped about a percentage point after the Federal Reserve said it might taper stimulus spending. A surge in all-cash purchases to more than 40 percent has kept housing prices rising, squeezing more Americans out of the market. That will help push lending down further this year, according to the association. Ms. Howley may be contacted at kmhowley@bloomberg.net; Mr. Tracer may be contacted at ztracer1@bloomberg.net; Ms. Perlberg may be contacted at hperlberg@bloomberg.net Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Kathleen M. Howley, Zachary Tracer and Heather Perlberg, Bloomberg

A Trivial Case

November 07, 2022 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
Construction defect cases leading to physical injury are rarely trivial, at least in the eyes of the injured party, but alas sometimes they are as the next case, Nunez v. City of Redondo Beach, 81 Cal.App.5th 749 (2022), demonstrates. The Nunez Case Monica Nunez, Vice President of Finance and Accounting at a restaurant chain and a part-time fitness instructor at a gym, tripped and fell on a public sidewalk in Redondo Beach. Ms. Nunez, who was in her forties, tripped following a group run when her back foot hit a sidewalk slab that was elevated at its highest point approximately 11/16 inches. Ms. Nunez landed on her left knee and right arm and in the process fractured her kneecap and elbow. Ms. Nunez sued the City of Redondo Beach for her injuries alleging causes of action for dangerous conditions on public property under Government Code section 835, nuisance under Government Code section 815.2, and failure to perform a mandatory duty under Government Code section 815.6. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

Tech to Help Contractors Avoid Litigation

November 01, 2022 — Brian Poage - Construction Executive
Risk mitigation is a bigger part of managing construction projects than most people outside the industry realize. Construction is a risky business by nature. However, with the right tools, contractors can protect their businesses from costly litigation and keep jobsites safer and more productive. Modern technology helps increase project visibility for internal and external stakeholders, helping them monitor risks and resolve potential issues as quickly as possible. How does increased visibility reduce risk? The most common causes of litigation in construction are quality issues, schedule delays and injuries. Each of these risks can be reduced with better communication and documentation. Reprinted courtesy of Brian Poage, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Digitalizing the Construction Site – Interview with Tenderfield’s Jason Kamha

August 30, 2017 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
Here’s my interview with Jason Kamha, Director at Tenderfield, an Australian construction software company. Can you say a few words about yourself and your company? Tenderfield is based in Sydney, Australia and was established in 2014. We provide a software-as-a-service (SAAS) platform that enables construction firms to collaborate on large construction projects throughout the tendering and project management phases. A bit about myself, I have been working in the construction management field for over 10 years as an Estimator and a Contracts Administrator. I have always been interested in how technology can improve productivity and collaboration in construction. I worked on large projects and witnessed first-hand what can happen when information and people are disconnected. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at info@aepartners.fi

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