Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Preparing Your Business For Internal Transition

October 14, 2019 — Stephen P. Katz, Esq. - ConsensusDocs
When is it right to start thinking about succession planning and preparing a construction company for transition? Many would agree – in concept, at least – that serious thought regarding succession and transition planning should begin at a company’s inception and be revisited throughout its lifecycle, but as a practical matter, it is frequently not part of the mindset when growing a business. This article explores issues that construction company owners should consider in order to achieve smooth transition of ownership and control. We will address three critical questions:

What happens to the business when an owner retires;
In the event an owner(s) become disabled; and,
Unplanned exit/owner pre-deceases her/his exit from the company

Owners who do not plan carefully for transition are often faced with the less than appealing option of liquidating their business for much less than its value, or by closing the business with no return upon that event. However, those who plan carefully can realize the value of their life’s work, pass the business to the next generation and see their legacy continue. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Stephen P. Katz, Esq., Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Mr. Katz may be contacted at skatz@pecklaw.com

Poor Record Keeping = Going to the Poor House (or, why project documentation matters)

June 11, 2014 — Melissa Dewey Brumback – Construction Law in North Carolina
You are an engineer or architect. You understand the importance of thorough designs. What about thorough documentation of the daily happenings on the construction project? That is equally important. As regular readers of this blog know, I have often spoken of the importance of proper record keeping on construction projects. In fact, lack of good project records is one of the 7 mistakes in my white paper 7 Critical Mistakes that Engineers & Architects make During Project Negotiation and Execution that Sabotage their Projects & Invite Litigation. Now, a construction management expert, who, like me, sees the ugly when construction projects turn bad, has weighed in with perhaps the authoritative reasoning and rationale (pdf) for good project records. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Dewey Brumback, Construction Law in North Carolina
Ms. Brumback may be contacted at mbrumback@rl-law.com

The Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (ASCDC) and the Construction Defect Claims Managers Association (CDMA) Annual Construction Defect Seminar

December 04, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (ASCDC) and the Construction Defect Claims Managers Association (CDMA) Jointly Present the 2013 Construction Defect Seminar and Holiday Party to be Held Thursday, December 5, at the Hilton Hotel, Costa Mesa Professional development activities will include panel discussions including “What Happened to Simple HOA Actions – Litigating Commercial Projects,” a roundtable discussion by Ross Hart, Keith Koeller, Alex Robertson, Les Robertson, Todd Schweitzer, Wendy Wilcox, and Brian D. Kahn. A timely discussion of California’s “right to repair” laws “SB800 – Is It Still Worth Fighting For?,” will be presented by Nick Cammarota, Timothy Earl, Luke Ryan, Dave Simons, Dave Stern, John Terry, and Adrienne Cohen is also on the the agenda.. Additionally, Assemblyman Donald P. Wagner will serve as the event’s Special Guest Speaker. Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc. is pleased to return this year as an event sponsor. BHA will be exhibiting our latest inspection data collection system and forensic analysis platforms newly optimized for the new iOS 7. Visitors of the BHA exhibit booth can enter into our drawing for a 16 GB iPad Air with WiFi. Professional development activities will be followed by a holiday party and reception honoring the Orange County Judiciary. The reception will be hosted by Glenn Barger, Adrienne Cohen, and Brian Kahn. It will place from 5:30 p.m. through 7.00 p.m. For further information for the event, please visit http://www.ascdc.org/Events.asp. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of

The Conscious Builder – Interview with Casey Grey

February 16, 2017 — Aarni Heiskanen – AEC Business
In this podcast interview, Casey Grey talks about Conscious Building, passive houses, and and how we can make our homes healthier. About Casey Grey Casey Grey is the founder and CEO of The Conscious Builder Inc., an Ontario company. Casey is one of those very few people who knew what he wanted from a very young age. Although his goals have changed over the years, they have always revolved around building homes. From Lego, to tree houses to custom homes, he is constantly looking for ways to build better homes. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aarni@aepartners.fi

Contractor Entitled to Defense for Alleged Faulty Workmanship of Subcontractor

February 10, 2020 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Applying Nevada law, the Federal District Court in Florida found that the general contractor was entitled to a defense of claims based upon alleged faulty workmanship of a subcontractor. KB Home Jacksonville LLC v. Liberty Mutual Fire Ins. Co, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151235 (M.D. Fla. Sept 5, 2019). KB Home completed six residential developments utilizing various subcontractors. One subcontractor was Florida State Plastering, LLC (FSP) for installing stucco. Eighty-eight complaints against KB Home implicated FSP's stucco work. Plaintiffs alleged that the stucco subcontractor's work suffered from construction defects, causing damages not only to the exterior stucco, but also the underling wire lath, paper backing, house wrap, wood sheathing, interior walls, interior floors and other property. Ironshore insured FSP under a CGL policy. KB Home was an additional insured for liability for property damage caused by "your work." KB Home was also insured under its own CGL policy with Liberty Mutual. Both insurers refused to defend. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Construction Defect Litigation in Nevada Called "Out of Control"

February 04, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
KXNT Las Vegas's Trevor Smith reports that Las Vegas alone has more than 500 pending construction defect cases. The issue of construction defects in Nevada will be taken up by the Nevada Legislature. Smith spoke with Mike Dillon, the executive director of the Builders Association of Northern Nevada. BANN is supporting legislation that Dillon says will "protect homeowners and secondly it's going to put people back to work." Dillon noted that "construction is the second largest industry in the state." Dillon attributed some of the construction defect litigation to the state's building codes. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of

Condo Building Hits Highest Share of Canada Market Since 1971

December 10, 2015 — Theophilos Argitis – Bloomberg
It’s the year of the condo for Canada’s housing market. Construction of multiple units as a share of total new housing starts is at the highest level since 1971, data from Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. show, as builders in Toronto and Vancouver press ahead with new development. The condo boom -- fueled in part by affordability issues in Canada’s two priciest markets -- is helping offset a slump in construction of single detached homes across the country. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Theophilos Argitis, Bloomberg

Two More Lawsuits Filed Over COVID-19 Business Interruption Losses

April 13, 2020 — Michael S. Levine - Hunton Andrews Kurth
Two more lawsuits were filed yesterday concerning business interruption losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The plaintiffs, the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, filed their lawsuits, copies of which can be found here and here, in Oklahoma state court against a litany of property insurers, led by AIG. The lawsuits seek an order that any financial losses suffered by the nations’ casinos, restaurants and other businesses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic are covered by the nations’ insurance policies. According to the complaints:

On or about March of 2020, the United States of America became infected by COVID 19 resulting in a pandemic. As a result of this pandemic and infection, the Nation’s Property sustained direct physical loss or damage and will continue to sustain direct physical loss or damage covered by the policies, including but not limited to business interruption, extra expense, interruption by civil authority, limitations on ingress and egress, and expenses to reduce loss. As a direct result of this pandemic and infection, the Nation’s Property has been damaged, as described above, and cannot be used for its intended purpose.

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Reprinted courtesy of Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com

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