Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

West Coast Casualty’s 25th Construction Defect Seminar Has Begun

May 16, 2018 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The first day of this year’s West Coast Casualty Seminar has concluded, with two more days ahead to learn, network, and discuss the construction defect industry’s current trends. Don’t forget to stop by the Bert L. Howe & Associate’s exhibit so that you can participate in their Sink a Putt for Charity Golf Challenge. As in the past, attendees can participate for free in the BHA golf challenge and win a $25 Amazon gift card, and for every successful putt made, BHA will make a $25 cash donation in the golfer’s name to be distributed equally between each worthy organization. This year, participant’s efforts on the green will help benefit three cancer fighting institutions that are dedicated to treating and eradicating children’s cancer: Hawaii’s Children’s Cancer Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Shriners Hospital for Children. BHA is also raffling Dodger’s tickets, so you won’t want to miss their exhibit. You may read more about this year’s exhibit at BHA HAS A NICE SWING and take a look back at previous exhibits, 20 YEARS OF BHA AT WEST COAST CASUALTY'S CD SEMINAR: CHRONICLING BHA'S INNOVATIVE EXHIBITS. Want some help maximizing your work-play schedule? Check out CDJ’s Sample Itinerary to get the Most out of West Coast Casualty’s Construction Defect Seminar that includes the seminar schedule as well as dining and event suggestions. We also have included suggestions for exploring the Greater Anaheim area: BEYOND THE DISNEYLAND RESORT: DINING, BEYOND THE DISNEYLAND RESORT: SPECIAL EVENTS, BEYOND THE DISNEYLAND RESORT: MUSEUMS, and BEYOND THE DISNEYLAND RESORT: WORLD CLASS SHOPPING EXPERIENCES. Last week, Don MacGregor wrote a not-to-be-missed piece on THE EVOLUTION OF CONSTRUCTION DEFECT TRENDS AT WEST COAST CASUALTY SEMINAR. Thursday, this year’s West Coast Casualty awards will be presented. To learn more about these coveted awards, please see A LOOK BACK AT THE OLLIES and AN ERA OF LEGENDS. We hope you enjoy days two and three of the seminar! Read the court decision
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Colorado Defective Construction is Not Considered "Property Damage"

September 12, 2022 — Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
In the July 5, 2022, case of Indian Harbor Ins. Co. v. Houston Casualty Co., the United States District Court for Colorado addressed the issue of whether damage to defectively installed balconies is considered “property damage” under Colorado law, requiring payment by a commercial general liability policy. Facts of the Case The case stems from a construction project where a subcontractor improperly installed balconies on an apartment complex. The owner of the project secured commercial general liability (CGL) coverage through an OCIP insured by Houston Casualty Company (HHC). The OCIP insured the general contractor and subcontractors. The general contractor also purchased a subcontractor default insurance policy insured by Indian Harbor. All parties agreed that the subcontractor improperly installed portions of various balconies, including flashing, water-proof sealing, and water-resistant barriers, among other defects with the installation process. The parties also agreed that other portions of the balconies were properly installed. However, in order to repair the defects in the installations, every bit of each balcony had to be torn off and re-constructed. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.

Automating Your Home? There’s an App for That

April 03, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Writing in the New York Times, Nick Wingfield looks at both the promise and failures of home automation, starting with a timer which had “buttons the size of a small seed” and was too difficult to reset. Wingfield said the timer “made my house dumber.” He moves on to the useful items, such as the Nest thermostat, which improves on his previous programmable thermostat by being able to determine when people are actually home (so an empty house isn’t being heated) and it can be controlled from a smartphone app, useful for the taxi on the way home from the airport. The Belkin WeMo Switch allows users to control lamps from an iOS app and the timer functions can be accessed without having to use seed-sized buttons. For those with bigger home automation budgets, there are now companies setting up whole house systems, including thermostat, light controls, motion detectors, surveillance cameras, and even monitors for your hot water heater and the level of carbon monoxide in your home. These systems start at around $1,500 but quickly go past $5,000. Other packages are sold on a month-by-month basis. And they include apps. Read the court decision
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The EEOC Targets Construction Industry For Heightened Enforcement

May 15, 2023 — Meghan Douris & Andrew Scroggins - The Construction Seyt
Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 10, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released for public comment its draft 2023-2027 Strategic Enforcement Plan (“SEP”)—a document that will guide the Commission’s enforcement priorities for the next five years. The EEOC’s prior Strategic Plan described how it would pursue its enforcement goals. (See our earlier blog on the Strategic Plan here). The Strategic Enforcement Plan, on the other hand, describes what the EEOC’s enforcement priorities will be. Earlier actions by the EEOC suggested that it might be turning its attention to the construction industry. In the SEP, the EEOC makes its intentions explicit, putting the construction industry—and especially those receiving federal funding—squarely in its sights. History of the SEP The EEOC’s first SEP covered Fiscal Years 2013-2016 (the EEOC’s fiscal years begin on October 1) and identified six broad subject-matter priorities. The EEOC’s second SEP set the course for enforcement priorities for FY2017-2022. The latest proposed SEP, published in the Federal Register for comment for the first time, provides notable additional details that put the employer community on notice of the Commission’s intentions for FY2023-2027.[1] Reprinted courtesy of Meghan Douris, Seyfarth and Andrew Scroggins, Seyfarth Ms. Douris may be contacted at mdouris@seyfarth.com Mr. Scroggins may be contacted ascroggins@seyfarth.com Read the court decision
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Georgia Law: “An Occurrence Can Arise Where Faulty Workmanship Causes Unforeseen or Unexpected Damage to Other Property”

March 05, 2011 — CDCoverage.com

In American Empire Surplus Lines Ins. Co. v. Hathaway Development Co., Inc., No. S10G0521 (Ga. March 7, 2011), insured plumbing subcontractor Whisnant was sued by general contractor Hathaway seeking damages for costs incurred by Hathaway in repairing damage to property other than Whisnant’s plumbing work resulting from Whisnant’s negligently performed plumbing work on three separate projects. On one project, Whisnant installed a pipe smaller

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Reprinted courtesy of CDCoverage.com

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Industrialized Construction News 7/2022

August 15, 2022 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
The AEC Business newsletter’s Industrialized Construction edition in July featured the following news stories: The Pros and Cons of Offsite Construction – A French Research Study The study is titled The current use of industrialized construction techniques in France: Benefits, limits and future expectations. The authors are Emna Attouri, Zoubeir Lafhaj, Laure Ducoulombierb and Bruno Linéatte. Read more Rise of the machines? For Construction, Not Yet Matthew Thibault’s article examines the opportunities and challenges of construction robotics. Robots can improve safety and productivity, but the ROI is still unclear to many contractors. Read more Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

Ninth Circuit Issues Pro-Contractor Licensing Ruling

July 18, 2018 — Amy L. Pierce – Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
On July 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its much anticipated and a pro-contractor ruling in MP Nexlevel of California, Inc. v. CVIN LLC. The appeal arose from a dispute over the scope of a California specialty contractor’s license and, more particular, involved whether the subcontractor’s performance of certain work was outside the scope of its license constituting a breach of contract and resulting in the contractor not being entitled to payment for its work (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7031(a)). In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded the matter, finding that “Nexlevel’s work here was ‘incidental and supplemental’ to the installation of these fiberoptic systems,” as contemplated by Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 16, § 831. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Amy L. Pierce, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Ms. Pierce may be contacted at amy.pierce@pillsburylaw.com

Price Escalation Impacts

August 22, 2022 — Denise Motta - Gordon & Rees Construction Law Blog
This Bulletin provides guidance to contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and others to ensure compliance with contractual change order requirements in the event work on a construction project is impacted by price escalation. Construction projects are being impacted by increased costs for most construction materials. The Producer Price Index shows a 69% increase in the cost of construction materials from March 2020 to March 2022. Many construction contracts do not address escalation or specifically exclude change orders for material escalation, leaving the risk of escalation of construction materials with the contractor, subcontractor, or suppliers. Bid Protection Tips:

Keep bids open for less than 30 days with a designated sunset date:

Keeping your bids open for less than 30 days can help protect you from sudden changes in pricing and help maintain your bids’ competitive status.
If asked to extend time a bid is open, reconfirm prices before agreeing.

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Reprinted courtesy of Denise Motta, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP
Ms. Motta may be contacted at dmotta@grsm.com

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