Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Chinese Demand Rush for Australia Homes to Stay, Ausin Says

August 06, 2014 — Nichola Saminather – Bloomberg
Ausin Group (Finance) Pty, which offers property and mortgage broking in Australia to Chinese buyers, expects to sell two-thirds more homes and to double the amount of loans it arranges as demand from the mainland surges. The company forecasts A$1.5 billion ($1.4 billion) in sales of new residential properties in the year ending June 30, compared with A$900 million over the previous 12 months, Sydney-based Managing Director Joseph Zaja said in an interview yesterday. The value of mortgages the closely held company arranges through Australian banks is expected to climb to A$500 million in the 2015 calendar year, he said. Ausin is benefiting from surging demand from China, where the housing market is faltering. Chinese purchasers overtook Americans to become the biggest buyers of real estate in Australia in the 12 months through June 2013, plowing A$5.9 billion into commercial and residential property, a 42 percent increase from the previous 12 months. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Nichola Saminather, Bloomberg
Ms. Saminather may be contacted at nsaminather1@bloomberg.net

Subcontractors Aren’t Helpless

July 26, 2017 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
As a construction attorney here in Virginia, I often have the pleasure of assisting subcontractors seeking advice on their all important contracts with general contractors. I often sense that these subcontractors feel that they are at the bottom of the food chain and don’t have the “clout” necessary to push back at all against the myriad clauses in these contracts that seek to push the risk downhill. “Pay if Paid” clauses, subordination of lien clauses (which may or may not be enforceable), indemnification language that seems to make the subcontractor liable for way too much, and the dreaded incorporation clauses , would seem to make the subcontractor hold one big “bag of risk” on any construction project. While this may seem bleak, never fear, as a subcontractor you are not totally helpless. Remember, you don’t have to take a job from a general contractor that you get a bad feeling about. Often the best indicator of whether you want to move forward is your “spidey sense” that something seems a bit off or that the GC is trying to cram too much down your throat. Use your experience in the construction industry to guide your contracting activities. It is better to avoid the bad job than to take it in the long run. If you are a quality subcontractor (and I know you are or you wouldn’t be reading this), other work will come along because general contractors need good subs to get their work done. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Christopher G. Hill, The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

California Supreme Court Upholds Insurance Commissioner’s Authority to Regulate Replacement Cost Estimates

January 26, 2017 — Christopher Kendrick & Valerie A. Moore – Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
n Assn. of Cal. Insurance Companies v. Jones ( No. S226529, filed 1/23/17), the California Supreme Court reversed trial and appellate court decisions to hold that California’s Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones had the authority to promulgate California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2695.183, which sets out specific requirements for estimating replacement cost as part of any application for or renewal of homeowners insurance. The regulation was promulgated in 2010 in response to complaints from homeowners who lost their homes in the Southern California wildfires of 2003, 2007, and 2008, and who discovered that they did not have enough insurance to cover the full cost of repairing or rebuilding their homes because the insurers’ estimates of replacement value were too low when they purchased the insurance. Reprinted courtesy of Christopher Kendrick, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP and Valerie A. Moore, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP Mr. Kendrick may be contacted at ckendrick@hbblaw.com Ms. Moore may be contacted at vmoore@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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Where Parched California Is Finding New Water Sources

June 13, 2022 — Pam McFarland - Engineering News-Record
As drought-plagued western states watch their water sources literally dry up, California is digging deeper to tap the most basic source of all: groundwater. Reprinted courtesy of Pam McFarland, Engineering News-Record Ms. McFarland may be contacted at mcfarlandp@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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The Status of OSHA’s Impending Heat Stress Standard

May 30, 2022 — Stephen E. Irving - ConsensusDocs
There has been much talk in the last several months about OSHA’s intent to establish a national standard to prevent heat-related injury and illness. OSHA’s Region VI, covering the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico[1], has had a regional emphasis program dealing with the hazards of heat stress for more than two decades, and much of the talk about a new national standard suggests modeling some aspects of the standard after the Region VI program. Region VI’s long-standing program emphasizes water, rest, and shade; acclimatization; and responding to medical emergencies. In October 2021, OSHA issued its advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) for Heat Injury and Prevention. The ANPRM rulemaking established a new Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Work Group within the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH.) Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Stephen E. Irving, Peckar & Abramson
Mr. Irving may be contacted at sirving@pecklaw.com

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Honors Construction Attorney

November 20, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly has named Grace V. B. Garcia one of its 2013 Top Women of the Law. She is an attorney at Morrison Mahoney LLP in Boston, and her practice focuses on construction law, product liability, premises liability, commercial litigation, and American with Disability Act cases. Read the court decision
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Home Prices Rose in Fewer U.S. Markets in Fourth Quarter

February 12, 2014 — Prashant Gopal – Bloomberg
Prices for single-family homes rose in 73 percent of U.S. cities in the fourth quarter, fewer than in the previous three months, as surging values in the past two years started to reduce affordability. The median transaction price for an existing home climbed from a year earlier in 119 of 164 metropolitan areas measured, the National Association of Realtors said in a report today. In the third quarter, 88 percent of markets had increases. While tight inventories and improving employment are bolstering the housing recovery, home-price gains are poised to decelerate as an increase in mortgage rates from record lows cuts into affordability. Values have been rising faster than incomes, particularly in the West, the Realtors group said. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Prashant Gopal, Bloomberg
Mr. Gopal may be contacted at pgopal2@bloomberg.net

It's a Wrap! Enforcing Online Agreements in Light of the CPRA

March 08, 2021 — Kyle Janecek – Newmeyer Dillion
We're all familiar with it at this point. A popup comes up on your device informing you of a change to terms and conditions, or otherwise asking for permission. For those operating websites, they know that this inconvenience is required to comply with various legal requirements. What they may not be aware of yet, is that these requirements, and popups, are about to become much, much, more prevalent. Recently, the California Privacy Rights Act ("CPRA"), passed by the voters of the State of California, includes new language specifying how consent is supposed to be obtained for the collection of personal information, amending the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"). This new manner of consent rules out browsewrap agreements, and would require that popups increase as website operators shift focus to clickwrap agreements, if they have not already. Browsewrap and Clickwrap Typically, online agreements comprising Terms of Service or a Privacy Policy can be broken into either (a) browsewrap agreements - agreements that imply assent or agreement to online terms by the mere act of using a website or an online service after a clear and conspicuous notice that terms exist or (b) clickwrap agreements - agreements that show assent or agreement to online terms by having an individual click or otherwise agree to. While the best option to ensure enforceability is always the one that leaves the most documented signs of assenting to terms (i.e. a clickwrap agreement), both are typically recognized and enforced under California law. The practical effect of this is that to get consent, all that is technically needed is either to (a) show actual consent by having the person click on an "I agree" button, or (b) provide that the website visitor had ample notice that terms existed. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Kyle Janecek, Newmeyer Dillion
Mr. Janecek may be contacted at kyle.janecek@ndlf.com

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