Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Unfinished Building Projects Litter Miami

November 18, 2011 — CDJ STAFF

Buildings born in ambitious development plans that were never brought to completion form a grim reminder of the building bust in Miami, according to an article in the Miami Herald. One project started in 2007 as a residential project, later there were hopes to develop it as a hotel. These plans are ten months old with no work done.

Another project was projected as a 30-story office and commercial tower. Four were built before the project was abandoned. The article describes the site as “squalid.” Another project completed the planned 17 stories, but no work has been done beyond constructing the shell. Once planned as luxury condos, the owner owes more than $30,000 in property taxes.

Each of the three sites profiled in the Miami Herald have become dumping grounds for trash. The building skeletons have also become damaged by the elements. Some abandoned projects have been taken over by homeless people. Businesses near the abandoned properties have been hurt. The buildings also represent failed obligations to subcontractors who have put liens on the properties for work they performed but were never paid for.

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ACEC Research Institute Releases New Engineering Industry Forecast

December 13, 2021 — American Council of Engineering Companies
Washington, DC, Dec. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the ACEC Research Institute released two new reports on the Engineering and Design Services industry: the 2021 Economic Assessment of the Engineering and Design Services Industry and a new Engineering Business Sentiment report for Q4 2021. The data shows the industry has rebounded from project postponements due to COVID, though firms identify a tight labor market and lack of qualified workers as continued barriers to growth across public and private markets. This is the second annual release of the Engineering and Design Services industry assessment, which tracks the industry's economic contributions, analyzes key economic drivers, and forecasts industry growth. Snapshot of the Engineering and Design Services Industry: 1.5 million direct full- and part-time jobs $97,300 average yearly wages $338 billion in industry sales $198 billion direct economic contribution $105 billion collected in total federal, state & local tax Both reports, the 2021 Economic Assessment of the Engineering and Design Services Industry and the Engineering Business Sentiment report for Q4 2021, are available for download by clicking here. ### The ACEC Research Institute is the research arm of the American Council of Engineering Companies – the business association of the nation's engineering industry. The ACEC Research Institute's mission is to deliver knowledge and business strategies that guide and elevate the engineering industry and to be the leading source of knowledge and thought leadership for creating a more sustainable, safe, secure and technically advanced built environment. For more information, go to www.acecresearchinstitute.org. Read the court decision
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Contractor’s Charge Of Improvements To Real Property Not Required For Laborers To Have Lien Rights

June 13, 2018 — Matt T. Paxton - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC Blog
In Washington, persons furnishing labor, professional services, material, or equipment for improvements of real property are generally entitled to a lien on that property, but only if their labor is furnished at the direction of the owner or the owner’s “construction agent.”[1] Whether a lien attaches, therefore, can turn on whether the person directing work is the owner’s construction agent. Washington’s mechanic’s lien statute defines “construction agent” as “any registered or licensed contractor, registered or licensed subcontractor, architect, engineer, or other person having charge of any improvement to real property, who shall be deemed the agent of the owner for the limited purpose of establishing the lien created by this chapter.”[2] Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Matt T. Paxton, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Mr. Paxton may be contacted at matt.paxton@acslawyers.com

Administration Seeks To Build New FBI HQ on Current D.C. Site

February 28, 2018 — Tom Ichniowski – ENR
A Senate committee plans to examine a new $3.3-billion Trump administration proposal to demolish the Federal Bureau of Investigation's worn, outmoded headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C., and construct a new facility on that site. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tom Ichniowski, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Ichniowski may be contacted at ichniowskit@enr.com

Contract Terms Can Impact the Accrual Date For Florida’s Statute of Repose

October 19, 2017 — William L. Doerler - White and Williams LLP
When the validity of a construction defect claim depends on whether the claim is barred by the applicable state’s statute of repose, it is important to review the statute to identify when claims subject to the statute of repose accrue. In Busch v. Lennar Homes, LLC, 219 So.3d 93 (Fla. Ct. App. (5th Dist.) 2017), the Court of Appeals of Florida clarified the accrual date for the statute of repose in cases where the accrual date depends on a construction contract’s completion date. Pursuant to Busch, the date of full performance under the contract, not the building’s purchase closing date, is the date on which claims accrue. In Busch, Timothy Busch (Busch), pursuant to a Purchase and Sale Agreement, contracted to have Lennar Homes build him a house. Nearly ten years after closing on the home, Busch served Lennar Homes with a notice of construction defects, as required by Florida’s right-to-repair act. Shortly thereafter, but more than 10 years after the home’s closing date, Busch filed suit against Lennar Homes, alleging that there were multiple construction defects associated with the home. Lennar Homes, relying on Florida’s statute of repose, Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(c), filed a motion to dismiss Busch’s complaint. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of William L. Doerler, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Doerler may be contacted at doerlerw@whiteandwilliams.com

Building Codes Evolve With High Wind Events

November 14, 2018 — William L. Coulbourne - Construction Executive
Designs for wind loads have been in building codes for a long time. Prior to the creation of the International Building Code, the three primary legacy codes had wind load provisions but they mostly dealt with wind loads on the building frame and had little load information about the building components or the exterior cladding. Since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, building codes include more wind design information that comes from disaster investigations and wind engineering research conducted primarily at the university level. In 2000, the legacy building codes were replaced with the International Building Code (IBC). Residential buildings must comply with the International Residential Code (IRC). Both of these building code documents reference the engineering load standard, ASCE 7 Minimum Design Loads and Other Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures. This load standard has also been in existence for a long time; it now is revised every six years and the building codes revised every three years (IBC and IRC) reference ASCE 7 so the provisions in ASCE 7 become part of the building code requirements. Reprinted courtesy of William L. Coulbourne, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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CDJ’s #2 Topic of the Year: Ewing Constr. Co., Inc. v. Amerisure Ins. Co., 2014 Tex. LEXIS 39 (Tex. Jan.17, 2014)

December 31, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Ewing received quite a bit of attention around the blogosphere, and Tred R. Eyerly of Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert wrote a nicely succinct case summary on his blog, Insurance Law Hawaii: “In a much anticipated decision, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a general contractor who agrees to perform its work in a good and workmanlike manner does not "assume liability" for damages arising out of its defective work so as to trigger the Contractual Liability Exclusion.” Read the court decision
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Priority of Liability Insurance Coverage and Horizontal and Vertical Exhaustion

June 22, 2020 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Recently, I participated in a webinar involving the horizontal and vertical exhaustion of insurance coverage. Say what? This pertains to the PRIORITY of liability insurance coverage and the interface between a general contractor’s (or upstream party’s) primary insurance and the subcontractor’s (or downstream party’s) excess insurance, particularly when the general contractor is required to be indemnified by the subcontractor and named as an additional insured under the subcontractor’s liability policies. For instance, let’s assume the general contractor has a $2M primary policy and a $5M excess policy. Its subcontractor has a $1M primary and a $5M excess policy. The general contractor is an additional insured under the subcontractor’s policies and the subcontractor is required to contractually indemnify the general contractor. An issue occurs caused by the subcontractor’s negligence resulting in a $5M judgment against the general contractor and the subcontractor. Read the court decision
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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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