Rio Olympic Infrastructure Costs of $2.3 Billion Are Set to Rise
January 31, 2014 —
Tariq Panja and David Biller – BloombergBrazilian authorities announced 5.6 billion reais ($2.3 billion) will be spent on infrastructure directly related to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and those costs will rise as projects are added.
Yesterday’s announcement comes months behind schedule, and after pressure on public bodies to reveal exactly how much it will cost for Rio to be the first South American city to host the quadrennial showpiece. Delays and cost overruns to several projects related to this year’s soccer World Cup have sharpened the focus on the Olympics.
“We are committed to being on schedule,” Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo said at a press conference in Rio to announce the spending plans. “It is the first time we have a consortium of three levels of government. It is in an effort to ensure the success and execution of all the commitments to deliver the Olympics in Rio in 2016.”
Mr. Panja may be contacted at tpanja@bloomberg.net and Mr. Biller may be contacted at dbiller1@bloomberg.net.
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Tariq Panja and David Biller, Bloomberg
Vertical vs. Horizontal Exhaustion – California Supreme Court Issues Ruling Favorable to Policyholders
May 11, 2020 —
Alan Packer & James Hultz - Newmeyer DillionFor years, when faced with damage or injury spanning several policy periods, excess general liability insurers have argued that all potentially applicable underlying policies must be exhausted before the excess drops down to provide coverage (“horizontal exhaustion”). Insureds, on the other hand, insist that they are entitled to immediately access an excess policy for any given policy year, if that year’s underlying policy has exhausted (“vertical exhaustion”). Vertical exhaustion not only enables insureds to directly tap into the excess insurance for which they paid substantial premiums, but also enables the insured to moderate risk given that different lower level policies might (1) be needed for other claims, (2) have larger self-insured retentions, or (3) have other less favorable coverage provisions. Allowing an insured to proceed via vertical exhaustion would also eliminate the heavy administrative and logistical burden that could result from having to pursue and exhaust all underlying coverage on multi-year claims.
In Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Superior Court, 2020 WL 1671560 (April 6, 2020), the California Supreme Court has come down in favor of policyholders and vertical exhaustion. The Montrose case involved contamination that allegedly occurred between 1947 and 1982 and different liability insurance towers (comprised of primary and excess layers) for each year. The insured, Montrose, maintained a tower of insurance coverage, year by year, and faced claims asserting damage that spanned several decades. Montrose sought coverage from excess insurers under a vertical exhaustion approach. Not surprisingly, Montrose’s excess insurers insisted that horizontal exclusion was required and that Montrose was required to exhausted all other policies with lower attachment points in every single involved policy period. The California Supreme Court ruled in Montrose’s favor, holding that the insured may insist upon full coverage from an excess insurer once the layer directly below it has exhausted. The Court reasoned that the burden of spreading the loss among insurers is one that is appropriately borne by insurers, not insureds.
Reprinted courtesy of
Alan H. Packer, Newmeyer Dillion and
James S. Hultz, Newmeyer Dillion
Mr. Packer may be contacted at alan.packer@ndlf.com
Mr. Hultz may be contacted at james.hultz@ndlf.com
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Need to Cover Yourself for “Crisis” Changes on a Job Site? Try These Tips (guest post)
July 02, 2018 —
Melissa Dewey Brumback – Construction Law in North CarolinaToday, we welcome back friend of the blog Christopher G. Hill.
Chris is a LEED AP, a Virginia Supreme Court certified mediator, construction lawyer and owner of the Richmond, VA firm, The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC. Chris authors the Construction Law Musings blog where he discusses legal and policy issues relevant to construction professionals.
As construction professionals we’ve all been there. Something happens on a job site that requires immediate attention and possibly a changed sequence of work or possibly a change to a subcontractor’s scope. It could be a buried power line that Miss Utility failed to mark properly or an owner that wants a different HVAC configuration at the last minute. It could also simply be that it rained too much, and work had to slow down.
The above examples are instances of items that are beyond the control of the general contractor or the subcontractors and are the type that require shifts in work schedules and changes in scope that must be dealt with on the fly and require quick decisions and immediate action if the project is to meet any time of completion reasonably close to that which is listed in the contract documents. It can often seem that there is no time to meet the written change order provisions of any well drafted construction contract.
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Melissa Dewey Brumback, Ragsdale Liggett PLLCMs. Brumback may be contacted at
mbrumback@rl-law.com
Solar Energy Isn’t Always Green
August 27, 2014 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFIEEE Spectrum reported that photovoltaics, used in Solar Energy, “varies substantially by technology and geography” and some emit chemical pollution. However, IEE Spectrum stated that “the industry could readily eliminate many of the damaging side effects that do exist.”
One challenge is that “nearly half the world’s photovoltaics are manufactured in China” who, according to IEEE Spectrum, “typically [does] the worst job of protecting the environment and their workers.”
It is also difficult for consumers to make choices based upon photovoltaic manufacturer practices, since solar energy doesn’t have a formal ecolabel like Energy Star, IEEE Spectrum reported.
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Kansas City Airport Terminal Project Faces Delays, Rising Costs
February 06, 2019 —
Kansas City Star - Engineering News-RecordCosts have long since blown past initial estimates, prompting an independent review of the price tag. Its opening is eight months behind schedule and mounting delays drew heated questions from local officials last year.
Sounds like the continuing saga of Kansas City's planned airport terminal, overwhelmingly approved by voters in November 2017 . It's actually about the new international arrivals facility under construction at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport , or Sea-Tac.
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Engineering News-RecordENR may be contacted at
ENR.com@bnpmedia.com
NIBS Consultative Council Issues Moving Forward Report on Healthy Buildings
July 25, 2021 —
National Institute of Building Sciences(WASHINGTON, DC, July 13, 2021) – The
National Institute of Building Sciences Consultative Council has issued its
2020 Moving Forward Report, looking closely at the importance of healthy buildings.
The report examines how buildings can protect and promote public health, providing recommendations for President Biden and policymakers on three components of healthy buildings: indoor environmental quality, the importance of design in promoting health, and promoting knowledge transfer between building owners and public health officials.
“Ensuring that the spaces where we live and work are healthy and safe for continued occupancy is critical to overcoming the pandemic,” said Lakisha A. Woods, CAE, President and CEO of NIBS. “This is a fundamental pillar of public health and community resilience. The concept of healthy buildings goes well beyond continual sanitation of a building’s indoor environment to eliminate pathogens.”
About NIBS
National Institute of Building Sciences brings together labor and consumer interests, government representatives, regulatory agencies, and members of the building industry to identify and resolve problems and potential problems around the construction of housing and commercial buildings. NIBS is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization. It was established by Congress in 1974. For more information, visit nibs.org or follow @bldgsciences on Twitter and Facebook.
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Suffolk Pauses $1.5B Boston Tower Project for Safety Audit After Fire
April 22, 2024 —
James Leggate - Engineering News-RecordThe team building the $1.5-billion, 51-story South Station Tower in Boston voluntarily shut down the jobsite April 9 for a safety stand down and audit after a small fire broke out, according to contractor Suffolk Construction. No one was injured.
Reprinted courtesy of
James Leggate, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Leggate may be contacted at leggatej@enr.com
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Melissa Dewey Brumback Invited Into Claims & Litigation Management Alliance Membership
October 14, 2013 —
CDJ STAFFMelissa Dewey Brumback has been invited to join the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, an “invitation only” organization of insurance companies, litigation and risk managers, claims professionals, and attorneys. Ms. Brumback, an attorney at Ragsdale Ligget PPLC, has a practice that focuses on construction law and business disputes. Her clients include architects and engineers in construction-related claims. Ms. Brumbuck is respected as an author and lecturer on construction law.
The Claims & Litigation Management Alliance comprises the leaders of claims and litigation management. Members are risk and litigation managers, insurance and claims professionals, and corporate and outside counsel.
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