Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Miller Act Payment Bond Surety Bound to Arbitration Award

December 29, 2020 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Here is an interesting case binding a Miller Act payment bond surety to an arbitration award against its prime contractor (bond principal) that it received sufficient notice of. Notice is the operative word. The surety could have participated in the arbitration, elected not to, and when its prime contractor (bond principal) lost the arbitration, it was NOT given another bite out of the apple to litigate facts already been decided. In BRC Uluslararasi Taahut VE Ticaret A.S. v. Lexon Ins. Co., 2020 WL 6801933 (D. Maryland 2020), a prime contractor was hired by the federal government to make security upgrades and interior renovations to a United States embassy in the Czech Republic. The prime contractor hired a subcontractor to perform all of the installed contract work. The prime contractor terminated the subcontractor for default during the course of construction. The subcontractor demanded arbitration in accordance with the subcontract claiming it was wrongfully terminated. The subcontractor also filed a lawsuit asserting a Miller Act payment bond claim against the prime contractor’s surety (as well as a breach of contract action against the prime contractor). The subcontractor made clear it intended to pursue its claims in arbitration and hold the payment bond surety jointly and severally liable. The parties agreed to stay the lawsuit since the facts were identical to those being arbitrated. The arbitration went forward and an award was entered in favor of the subcontractor and against the prime contractor for approximately $2.3 Million. 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

Is It Time to Digitize Safety?

October 24, 2022 — Peter Grant - Construction Executive
It’s valid to ask whether digitizing a safety program actually makes companies safer. Here is what the data says. All contractors face unique risks that call for custom safety measures. But they also face a handful of similar challenges in this area—including time-consuming paperwork, scattered documentation, as well as a lack of visibility into safety performance. A new report from Foresight Commercial Insurance, “The State of Safety in High Hazard Work Environments,” offers insights into companies’ safety struggles and points to possible solutions. Based on a survey of workers from high-risk industries like construction, the report outlines challenges that are painfully familiar. For example, four out of 10 respondents reported that they have felt pressured to work unsafely in order to complete tasks more quickly or to meet upcoming deadlines. Reprinted courtesy of Peter Grant, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Texas Federal Court Finds Total Pollution Exclusion Does Not Foreclose a Duty to Defend Waterway Degradation Lawsuit

October 24, 2022 — Jeremy S. Macklin - Traub Lieberman Insurance Law Blog
Evanston Ins Co. v. Tex. Concrete and Sand Gravel, Inc., No. 4:20-cv-00103 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 30, 2022) is a coverage dispute over Evanston Insurance Co.’s (“Evanston”) duty to defend and indemnify Texas Concrete Sand and Gravel, Inc. (“Texas Concrete”) and Apcon Services, LLC (“Apcon”) (collectively, the “Insureds”) for their contributions to the degradation of the waterways and retention lakes built to control flooding in the Houston area. On August 3, 2022, Magistrate Judge Yvonne Y. Ho recommended that Evanston’s motion for summary judgment be denied. On August 30, 2022, District Court Judge Alfred H. Bennett adopted Judge Ho’s Memorandum and Recommendations. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused significant flooding of the Houston area, which resulted in large-scale property damage. The underlying lawsuits alleged that, since 1954, Lake Houston’s waterways sustained a steady decline in capacity because of the release of materials into the waterway system. The Insureds allegedly contributed to the decline by allowing “materials and substances” (such as processed water, silt, sand, sediment, dirt, rock, and aggregate) to run off their privately controlled properties and into the Houston waterways. The reduced capacity, allegedly caused in part by the Insureds, exacerbated the flooding after Hurricane Harvey hit, increasing the damage from the hurricane. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jeremy S. Macklin, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Macklin may be contacted at jmacklin@tlsslaw.com

Despite Increased Presence in Construction, Women Lack Size-Appropriate PPE

September 26, 2022 — Robin Marth - Construction Executive
Fit. Functionality. Comfort. These are absolute musts for any employee wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) for work. Yet for many women in the workplace, finding PPE that fits well remains a challenge. In 2021, women comprised 11% of construction workers, 7.9% of truck drivers and 29% of manufacturing employees (Bureau of Labor Statistics), and their numbers in these fields continue to increase. Unfortunately, their options for proper-fitting PPE are not growing. "It's difficult to find PPE that fits women, because there is limited availability of these products, or suppliers do not offer them at all," says Brandy Bossle, owner and principal consultant at Triangle Safety Consulting LLC. "We really need suppliers to go out of their way to offer PPE that's cut for both men and women." Private fleet driver and Women in Trucking Image Team member Carol Nixon agrees, saying, "You can find men's hats, gloves, jackets and safety vests everywhere, but not with a female fit." Women can be shaped differently from head to toe—their faces, shoulders, waists, fingers and toes are often narrower, and they often have shorter torsos, among other differences. In order for PPE to fit many women comfortably and properly, these proportions need to be taken into account. In fact, OSHA states on its website that PPE used by women should be based on female body measurement data and that employers should offer PPE in sizes suitable for women. Reprinted courtesy of Robin Marth, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Ms. Marth may be contacted at media@jjkeller.com

How Many Homes have Energy-Efficient Appliances?

October 08, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing analyzed data from the Census Bureau’s 2011 American Housing Survey to “reveal the share of owner-occupied homes that contain various Energy Star related appliances.” Eye on Housing reported that in “new homes, the leading shares of Energy Star rated appliances were refrigerators (70%), washing machines (69%), dishwashers (65%), and central air conditioning (52%).” In “owner-occupied homes,” the survey demonstrated that “refrigerators are the most common Energy Star appliance.” Read the court decision
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Brazil World Cup Soccer Crisis Deepens With Eighth Worker Death

May 13, 2014 — Tariq Panja – Bloomberg
Brazil’s troubled World Cup staging efforts suffered another setback today following the electrocution death of a worker at one of the stadiums still under construction. Mohammed Ali, 32, was killed while working in the Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba, said Renata Martins, a spokeswoman for the state of Mato Grosso, where the venue is located. Ali’s death is the eighth construction related fatality at Brazil’s 12 World Cup venues and comes 35 days before the tournament opens on June 12 in Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena, another facility where work remains. The Cuiaba stadium, which will host four games starting with Chile playing Australia on June 13, is still missing 5,000 seats. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tariq Panja, Bloomberg
Mr. Panja may be contacted at tpanja@bloomberg.net

Homebuilders Offer Hope for U.K. Economy

August 20, 2014 — Mark Gilbert – Bloomberg
The two elements of the U.K. economy that the Bank of England currently finds most worrying are the overheating housing market and the paucity of wage growth. Earnings reports this week from two of the nation's biggest homebuilders make for cheery reading on both counts. Persimmon Plc, the U.K.'s largest homebuilder by market value, said today it completed 6,408 new homes in the first half of the year, a 28 percent increase from the year-earlier period. Bovis Homes Group, which mostly builds what it calls "traditional" family homes in the south of England outside London, said it sold 1,487 new homes in the first six months, a gain of 54 percent. "The government has told us that we need 230,000 new homes per annum, and far be it for us to disagree with that," Bovis Chief Executive Officer David Ritchie said on a conference call. He expects to build about 3,650 homes this year, and reckons that "5,000 to 6,000 homes per annum is a very sensible target for the business." Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Mark Gilbert, Bloomberg
Mr. Gilbert may be contacted at magilbert@bloomberg.net

Cameron Pledges to Double Starter Homes to Boost Supply

March 05, 2015 — Svenja O’Donnell – Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to double the number of homes built for first-time buyers by the end of the next parliamentary term in a bid to tackle Britain’s housing shortage. In a speech in Colchester, Essex, on Monday setting out the final part of his Tory party’s six-point campaign platform for the May 7 election, Cameron said 200,000 properties will be built by 2020 under his starter-homes plan. Prices of the homes, only available to first-time buyers under the age of 40, will be capped at 450,000 pounds ($692,000) in London and 250,000 pounds outside the capital. Reduced planning constraints will make it easier for developers to cut building costs, allowing the homes to be sold at a 20 percent discount. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Svenja O’Donnell, Bloomberg
Ms. O’Donnell may be contacted at sodonnell@bloomberg.net

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